Stumbling in the Alley
by ThunderStorm-8
Summary: Set shortly after "Karai's Vendetta." Leo finds Karai beat up in an alley. Who did it, why, and will this encounter re-kindle their friendship?
1. Friend or Foe

A drabble about Leo and Karai's friendship, may or may not continue.

The night was sweltering, humidity chocked the air and made even the simplest tasks practically unbearable, but the change in the weather didn't slow down the Krang, the Foot, or even the Purple Dragons, so Leo powered through his routine check of the neighborhood with sheer force of will.

Luckily for him he hadn't run into any excitement so far, and neither had his brothers from their own corners of the city.

A while ago, Donnie did the math and figured they would cover more ground working separately, so for the past few nights the boys took off alone in search for trouble. If someone found any, they simply re-grouped.

Taking one last flying leap into the shadows of a water tower, Leo crouched and listened. From the left he heard only the clatter of a stray cat jumping into a garbage can, from the right...nothing.

He rose from the shadows, about to move on to the next street when suddenly a familiar female voice cried out, following by the unmistakable sound of Krang laser guns firing.

"Karai!"

The leader doubled back across the roof, confirming what he already knew as he spotted his rival fighting off three Krang droids, but something was wrong...she was loosing.

He watched her roundhouse kick a Krang who barely flinched at an attack that would normally knock him into the dust, and although she tried to hide it the exhaustion was clear in her eyes.

Where was her armor? Her weapons?

For a moment the mutant was conflicted. Karai had only just attacked April a few days ago, not to mention declared all out war against his family, and yet...

He heard her scream again, this time out of pain as the Krang grabbed her arm and twisted, and knew he couldn't just leave her.

The ninja sailed down through the fire escapes, pouncing on his first target and slashing the others in half with two swift strikes of his katana. As usual the Krang brains scampered away from their broken host bodies, but Leo ignored them and went immediately to Karai who had collapsed to her knees in a hunched over bundle, clutching her right arm as the pain racked her system.

"Why are you out here without any gear?"

She glared as his offered hand, her muscles tense and coiled as she tried not to show any weakness. "I'm training...Now, thanks to you I have to find more punching bags." Seeing the concern in his eyes, and resenting him for it, she smacks his hand away with a proper striking fist and shifted her tone. "Unless you're up for a challenge."

"You're no challenge to me like this Karai." But Leo backed away, giving her some space.

A car drove by, shining just enough light into the alley way to reveal the extend of the Kunoichi's injuries.

The girl was practically scratched to pieces, especially her right arm. Nothing a Krang could have done, as the wounds were always perfectly parallel, as if she'd been fighting...

"Shredder."

Karai forced herself to stand despite feeling the ache of her injuries right down to her bones. "That's the difference between you and me. When my father trains me, he's serious." She wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth before balling her hands into fists.

"I'm not going to fight you. Not like this."

Despite his best intentions Karai just laughed in his face. "I see you're still not tired of being a goody-goody."

She lunged into a punch but Leo simply caught her fist and twirled her around, locking both arms to her sides as he held her still.

"You shouldn't be moving around! Let me at drop you off at a hospital."

Karai struggled for a moment before her approached shifted yet again. She leaned against his soft chest plate, looking over her shoulder at the blue hero with an expression that Leo couldn't quite read—but it made him blush.

"You want to help me?" She let more of her weight rest against him as he backed up instinctively into the brick wall. "I guess that's what you've always wanted...save me from my life of crime."

"Karai-" Desperate as he was for a snappy comeback, Leo's mind was blank. Instead his grip tightened on her arms—making her cry out in pain- and he let go without thinking.

She took the opportunity to strike a second time, but Leo caught her arm again, this time clutching her wrists in an iron grip as he found himself face to face with a what he could only describe as a wild animal caught in a trap .

The Kunoichi let her head fall to the side, looking down at her opponent through long lashes and half shut eyelids. "Why the long face? You've got me right where you want me." She leaned in closer, piercing his blue eyes with a gaze he still couldn't figure out.

"You could do anything you wanted to me right now."

Suddenly making the connection between her strange body language and enticing whispered words Leo pushed Karai back an arm's length, his cheeks a full shade darker. "Y-you have no idea what you're talking about."

"But I really do. It's so lonely being a ninja, isn't it?" She leaned in again, this time an inch from his face. "Especially for a bunch of mutant freaks. I bet you'd never seen a real girl before the redhead. Never been kissed..."

She leaned in just a bit further, but Leo snapped. "Karai-" He flipped her again, immobilizing her from the waist up with a solid hold. He knew she was just playing him so he'd get flustered and let go...but he was determined not to leave her alone. Not while she could barely stand. And this...this was as good a chance as any to try and make up for breaking her trust.

Wincing, she choked out, "So you like it rough?"

"Will you stop talking like that!" He squeezed his eyes tighter and tried not to focus on the girl in his arms and the way she was

"Suit yourself." He felt her foot slide seductively up his leg, but Leo knew it would lead to an attempt to knock him off balance. The mutant was growing tired of being played and taunted, so he shook her and tightened his grip.

"Why do you act like this?"

Sensing the game had worn out its welcome, Karai reverted back to her icy demeanor in two seconds flat.

"Because it's fun!" She lashed back and forth in his arms, growing numb to the pain she caused herself in struggling.

"Is it fun to die in an alley alone? If Shredder cared about you at all he'd would have never hurt you like this."

"You don't know a thing about my father!" Karai tried to kick his legs out from under him, but

Leo slid down the wall, restraining her last resource with his own huge feet as he patiently weathered the storm.

"I know _my _father could never do this to me."

Karai twisted and wiggled in his arms for another full minute before exhaustion set in. Leo felt each muscle in her back relax as she leaned into him and caught her breath.

Wary of her tricks, Leo carefully adjusted his grip to unwind the dojo wraps around his hands to patch up her wounds.

The two sat in complete silence for a long time while Leo worked, and Karai didn't struggle anymore.

Out of curiosity Leo glanced at her face, immediately regretting it. She looked exhausted and resigned, almost broken.

Finally, when he'd run out of bandages, Leo slowly let go, carefully testing the water to see what the Kunoichi would do.

To his surprise she didn't move an inch, it was almost as if she were lost deep in thought and didn't care to get up.

With a very quiet voice Leo broke the silence, "You should still go to the hospital...I missed a lot of places."

Karai didn't respond, but twisted in his lap to look at him. "Why are you doing this? We're not friends. We're not even allies anymore."

"We could be..." He offered softly. "I didn't understand before, about what Shredder means to you...I thought you were just a soldier caught up in something you didn't want to be a part of anymore."

Karai didn't answer him for a long time, but just when Leo thought he should say something else she leaned into the corner of his neck and rested there, her arms still hugging her own sides like a child.

"I'm not good with apologies..."

Cautiously, Leo set a huge hand atop her head, very slowly began to stroke her hair.

"And?"

"That was it."


	2. The touch of a friend

**Thanks to FlashyFashionFraud and everyone else for encouraging me to write this second chapter! **

Leo lifted Karai off the gross New York alley as quietly as possible. She felt so light in his arms, and from her silence and stillness he gathered she'd fallen asleep. He took a few quiet steps forward, trying not to disturb her as he worked through his plan in his head. All he had to do was drop her off at an ER and split before someone saw him. Then it hit him. Where was the nearest ER anyway?

"You know I can't actually go to a hospital, right?"

Her tired voice snapped him out of his thoughts and Leo looked down at the kunoichi with a quizzical scrunching of his brows.

Karai responded with an exasperated look as if the information was common knowledge, but when he insisted on leaving that adorably clueless look on his face she caved in with a short tempered sigh.

"We're here illegally. Criminal mastermind father? Blah blah blah." She waved a hand in gesture but flinched at the strain the movement caused.

She saw him about to open his mouth with more concern but was quick to shoo it away. "No."

"But-"

"No." She repeated firmly, mustering the strength. "You've done plenty, really, just...set me down and let me hobble back home."

Leo scrutinized her efforts before turning away again to look out at the New York neighborhood. Karai saw his eyes searching for something, though she couldn't imagine what.

"I'm not going to lead you to our place by the way."

"Fine. And I'm not leading you to ours, but you're not going home tonight."

With that, Leo tightened his grip and leapt onto the nearest fire escape, climbing higher and higher, completely unaware of the surprised look on Karai's face. She'd never seen him look so serious. Flustered, reluctant, determined, all the cute expressions her torment caused had never really brought out that look before.

Unwilling to ruin the surprise for herself and feeling completely drained, she rested back into his soft shell, closed her eyes, and waited for the motion of his body to stop.

Leo felt her relax again and smirked quietly at the small accomplishment before focusing back to the task at hand.

He flew over a dozen more roof tops, turned several corners, then finally leapt down onto the balcony of a slightly run-down looking apartment complex.

He peered cautiously into the dark window, listening for any signs of life, but there were none. Just like always.

Leonardo passed this window every night on his patrols, and every night it was completely dark amongst a sea of light. Even in the tail ends of dusk there were never any signs of movement. It was one of surface life's many mysteries he thought he'd never get the answer to. But now, as he popped open the window with his small knife and crept into the musty apartment Leo couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement to finally understand what was different about this place.

The leader found himself standing in a small, cramped living room filled to the brim with books. The furniture was all arranged haphazardly to make room for a grand piano that clearly didn't belong in the space, yet seemed to be the center of it all.

Trying his best not to stir Karai, Leo peered into the next room, discovering a tiny kitchen that was just as much a disheveled mess as the living room. There was a also bathroom just big enough for a small shower, sink, and toilet, and a bedroom that seemed uncharacteristically clean for the pattern that had been building thus far.

He set her down gently on top of the bed, but quickly found himself dodging the swipe of her fist as she woke like a startled cat, eyes wide and teeth bared. "Woah! Calm down!"

Karai's eyes darted around the room, and when she remembered what happened her breathing shortened, she lowered her fists and gave the place a more committed look. "Breaking an entering? I didn't know you had it in you, Captain."

Leo blushed at her slightly backhanded praise but ignored it as he headed for the bathroom. "Stay there. I'm going to look for a first aid kit."

Karai obliged and leaned back into the pillows, humming lightly to herself and admiring the room.

Western style rooms were so fascinating to her. The incredible waste of space, the overly decorated walls and shelves with useless trophies or toys was laughably entertaining. Yet, there was something to envy about people who had enough possessions to need an entire closet, a dozen drawers, and several shelves to store it all.

Her own room was nothing but bones, just the essentials. Nothing frilly, nothing to suggest the room even belonged to a woman—sans the collection of hygiene products and makeup in a box next to her futon—and she liked it that way. True, sometimes she wished he had a few more cloths, a few more shoes, but she had everything she needed. She could get up and go at a moment's notice and not worry about leaving anything important behind. The only real possessions other than her cloths and Katana that she could call her own was a small stack of mildly erotic novels, and Shredder only let her keep those because he said they were, "Good training tools."

Karai sighed as she thought of the stunt she's pulled on Leo, utilizing every trick in the book—literally—to make him loose his focus but none of it had worked. Somehow he knew she wasn't sincere, and as a ninja she'd have to work on that. But for now there was just a dull ache in her chest that kept nagging at her, saying; 'maybe you went too far.'

Before she could force the feeling down, Leo returned with an armful of medical supplies and a bowl of warm water with a washcloth hanging from the edge. He took a seat next to her by the bed and waited for her to make the next move.

Karai eyed him suspiciously, in any other circumstance she would have barked a short "no" and chased him out while she washed her own wounds, but her exhaustion—and the gnawing guilt from earlier—swayed her to oblige.

She offered a battered hand which Leo took it immediately, gently grasping her tiny fingers as he cleaned the cuts and scrapes up and down her arm with careful precision. The effect of it soothed Karai, more than she thought it would, and the rough girl found herself drifting away to the sensation of his touch.

She drifted in and out of consciousness, dozing here and there, only waking when Leo shifted to a different appendage. Karai had never felt more relaxed. She felt the warm cloth on her face, on her hands, she remembered the feeling of her pants legs being rolled up and the cloth cooling the sting of her cuts and bruises. Perhaps it was a dream, but she was sure she also felt three strong fingers brush over her hair.

It was almost a disappointment when he shook her shoulder wake her and ask about her back. Karai's bones seemed to creak as she pushed herself up to her elbows and turned away from him to peel off her black body suit.

Leo gulped silently, his eyes fixated on the incredibly boring roof. 'Just keep it cool...'

He heard the rustling of her cloths as she peeled the black suit off, pulling it down just far enough to expose most of her back and the nasty gashes there where no armor had been to protect her. He heard a funny noise of metal rubbing against metal—like a weapon being unhooked—and whipped around, defenses ready. Instead of a weapon he saw the fast blur of bare alabaster flesh and turned back so quickly he nearly strained his neck. "Sorry! Sorry! I thought...you had a weapon and..."

Karai cracked a smile at his flustered rambling and twirled her bra on her finger. He really was such a sweet heart. Honestly, it didn't bother her what the mutant saw, her body was a nothing but a weapon and she would use it to her every advantage. Maybe next time she'd flash him some skin and get the upper hand.

"Virgin." She teased playfully before settling on her stomach, arms folded under the pillows. While he cleaned the gashes on her back Karai's hands idled over the crisp, tidy wrappings on her hands. The mutant had done a wonderful job despite his bulky appendages, tentatively caring for each scrape and bruise.

She began to zone out the painful stings of water and antiseptic and focused instead on wondering if he did this much work for his own kin.

As her thoughts wandered, unwanted, to what Leo's home life might be like, the kunoichi eventually drifted so far down her own philosophy that she fell into a solid sleep for the first time that night.

Leo could feel the shift in her breathing as her body became dormant, slow easy breaths rolled through her chest and despite his better intentions Leo leaned over her to glance at her sleeping face.

His heart skipped a beat as he took in the sight of Karai's peaceful face. No walls, no malice, just an exhausted young woman drooling on her pillow with her lips turned up in the faintest of genuine smiles.

Leo promised himself that he would see that smile again, but that next time it would be for him.

When Karai woke the next morning it was to the smell of something cooking, or rather, burning, on the stove. Ignoring the jab of pain from her injuries she flew out of bed hastily dressed and ran to the kitchen without making a sound.

She burst through the doorway, ready to battle smoke and flames but ended up rolling with laughter at the sight of Leonardo juggling three culinary tasks at once and failing miserably.

"What are you-" She gasped between cackles, "Trying to do? Burn the whole building down?"

Leo's face turned red and he sheepishly tossed the frying pan in the sink, admitting defeat. "I was _trying_ to make lunch."

"Lunch?" Karai froze, her eyes went sharp and dark and Leo's heart sunk at the sight. "What time is it?" She demanded.

"Well past noon." Leo had to admit it was a gamble staying here during the day, but he was positive that no one would return any time soon and he had to admit that the sight of the city during the day was breathtaking. He hadn't seen nearly enough during their previous, brief, excursions, but from the high building he felt he could see it all.

Karai met his gaze for just a moment before tearing away to the front door. "I can't believe I slept this late. Shredder will be furious."

A strong hand grabbed her un-injured wrist and pulled, twisting the woman around to meet steely blue eyes.

"If you go out there you could expose us both."

From the tone in his voice and the sharpness of his eyes Karai knew Leo meant business.

"Fine." She replied shortly. "I'll go out the window."

"You don't think someone will notice a wounded girl climbing down 50 flights of building?"

"Well I can't stay." Karai jerked her hand out of his grip, retreating to the kitchen to quench her parched throat. She stuck her head under the faucet and let it run cold, drinking and basking in the feeling of the water running over her face. As she gulped the liquid her belly felt raw and empty, and she nearly threw it back up. Admitting defeat was not easy for Karai, but she did it again with a frustrated cry. There's no way she could climb down all those fire escapes while the world was spinning this way. Shredder would just have to wait.

She looked at the remnants of Leo's breakfast and almost smirked again. Several unidentifiable PopTarts lay burnt in the skillet, a mushy disgrace for singed white rice clung to a pan that had boiled over, and a pot of what was probably oatmeal all sat pitifully abandoned.

Without saying a word she reached into the cupboards and pulled out a granola bar, wolfed it down as she scoured the dusty cabinets for anything fast and nutritious. She settled, reluctantly, for a few cups of instant ramen and dried cranberries.

Leo leaned against the doorway and watched, impressed by how quickly she acclimated to the foreign kitchen. She took out a kettle, filled it with water and set it on to boil in just a few seconds. She tossed his failed attempts in the trash, haphazardly setting the rest of the dishes in the sink for a long soak.

She hopped onto the counter to wait for the water to boil, gobbling cranberries as the seconds ticked by too slowly. Leo examined her wounds from a distance. Everything was still in place, every bloody bandage had done its job so far but he knew they should be changed soon.

"Why don't you stay here?"

Karai turned to Leo for the first time since the front door with an unenthused scowl. "Why? There's no food here."

"Apr-I mean, I could bring you some food."

Turning away from him again Karai muling it over silently as she chewed the last bite of cranberry.

It kind of reminded him of Splinter.

Finally she set the bag down and turned to the mutant boy. "I don't understand why you're doing this. If you're good guy complex felt bad about almost blowing up my dad then last night was enough. I forgive you. But you're still technically my mortal enemy. You don't _owe_ me anything."

"Karai-" Leo stepped in closer, desperately needing her to understand his sincerity when he said, "I don't _want_ to be your enemy, I want to be your friend."

For once he was actually taller than her, and Karai found herself looking up into the most pained, honest eyes she'd ever known.

Before she could respond the whistle on the kettle went off and she hopped down to turn it off. Silence fell between them again as she poor hot water into five ramen cups and started a new search for chopsticks.

Leo tiled his head, counting the number of open cups. "You're gunna eat all of that?"

She shot him a look that would have made the town moron cry. "No. You're gunna eat one."

The blue leader clamped his mouth shut, having watched enough Space Heroes to knew better than to make any comments on what a woman eats and not wanting to incur anymore of that stare.

They ate in silence after that, but it was a comfortable quiet and neither ninja minded. Eventually

Karai wandered over to the bathroom, her third cup of noodles in hand, to examine her options.

It seemed acceptable.

With a brisk word she let Leo know she'd be having a shower, closing the door on the stammers of "do you need any h-help?" and felt more than a little sorry she hadn't look back to at his face—no doubt bright pink.

She peeled off her black body suit, carefully unwound the bandages before cranking the faucet to high and waiting, praying there was hot water.

While she waited the Kunoichi glanced at the mirror, almost immediately regretting the idea. Her face wasn't too bad, it never was, but the rest of her body looked like it had fallen under a steam roller. Bruises dotted her skin, red gashes nearly consumed her frame, and to add insult to injury half the hair on her head was sticking up the wrong way. Damn american pillows.

Before she could dwell much longer on her appearance steam began to rise in the small space, covering the dusty mirror with a fast spreading condensation. Karai stood there, watching her reflection disappear until there was nothing but an outline of her left. She took a deep breath, then stepped into the hot stream.

The water stung her wounds badly but her muscles needed the release and she held her ground, only turning the water off scalding because it was seemed like a waste.

Karai basked in the luxury of hot water, something she didn't have at home, and found herself drifting back to last night. Surprised by how much she wanted to feel someone's gentle hands touch her again. But that wasn't all. Despite every ounce of her training telling her it was probably a trap she wanted Leo to look at her again with eyes full of concern, she wanted to see the sincerity there and hear him say that he wanted to be her friend. And even deeper than that she wanted her father to do the same.

The ache was more than she expected, but Karai didn't count on the tears. The hard woman tried to ignore it, tried to shove those sentimental feelings back where they came from but despite everything she'd ever been told about herself, believed about herself, Karai couldn't stop the tears from spilling or the sobs at bay. For the first time every she finally admitted to herself how much she wanted a normal life. A normal father who was more than just her boss or her sensei but someone who cared about her, showed her affection, and treated her like a daughter instead of his favorite soldier. That's all she was to him. His favorite soldier. So when she messed up, like humiliating him by loosing to an amateur, his wrath was incredibly terrifying. But it shouldn't be. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right.

She crumbled to the shower floor and cried there until the water ran cold, and even then she felt like she couldn't stop. Wallowing in despair, self pity, and disgust Karai blocked out the rest of the world and sank.

Then she heard a knock at the door.


	3. Trials and Patience

Warning! character nudity but not sexual

When Karai shut the door in his face Leo stood dumbfounded for a full minute before regaining his composure. Unsure what to do with himself he finished off the last cup of her fake ramen and picked up his T-phone for the first time since last night to update Mikey on his situation.

His youngest brother was the only one Leo felt he could trust with this delicate situation. Raph would be upset at the breech of security and Donnie would be enraged that he was fraternizing with the person who'd almost put April in the hospital. So although Mikey wasn't always the best at keeping secrets Leo knew he was out of options.

"**Could you bring some food soon? There's nothing to eat here but some instant ramen that tastes like dust."**

The blue leader settled into the couch, resting his head back as he waited for a reply.

Soon enough a familiar ping! rang out.

"**Sure dude! How about Pizza? Or Pizza shakes? Maybe April could buy some fruit stuffs. Oh...wait no, nvm. That was dumb. Wait. Why don't you just order food from Murakami-san?" **

Leo nearly slapped himself in the face. How could he have not thought of that?

Instead he rubbed his temples, exhausted from the long night of standing guard against the sudden return of homeowners or police inspecting a break in.

Though looking around the apartment Leo could only conclude that its tenant had been gone for several months. The most recent magazines and newspapers were from September, and the abundance of literature in German lead him to believe that whoever owned this apartment was out of the country.

Leo called in an order for half the items on Murakami's menu—sans turtle soup—with promises to pay him back with actual money as soon as he got the chance.

With a soft exhale Leo set his phone down to settle in for a nap, but when his eyes had barely shut the ninja sensed something was off. He looked around the room cautiously, what was wrong?

A cold sweat broke out over his brow. How long had Karai been in the shower?

He rushed to the door, jiggling the handle. It wasn't locked but he didn't want to barge in. He knocked, and when he got no response Leo took a deep, careful breath, closed his eyes, and opened the door.

Before he could call out her name he heard it, a strained, silent cry and he felt his heart sink with worry and regret that he hadn't noticed sooner.

"Karai?"

He took another step into the small bathroom, felt a shaggy towel brush against his arm and he snagged it off the hanger.

He could feel the space of the room, vaguely identify what was were from memory and from the sense he got to the other objects. So there was no doubt in his mind that as he reached blindly into the icy cold stream of the shower his hands would wrap around Karai.

Lifting her gently he pulled her out of the freezing water and wrapped her quickly in the towel. Then, feeling it was safe to open his eyes, he welcomed the return of his sight and felt the lump in his throat grow harder, larger.

Karai was a shivering mess.

With one quick motion swipe of his hand he turned off the water, then re-adjusted his grip on Karai to lift her off the floor and set her on her feet.

"Karai, say something..."

At first there wasn't much response, but he felt her legs steady and relaxed his grip.

"Karai?"

She remembered the feeling of two warm hands reaching out, she remembered being pulled from the ice and fog into the relief of an embrace. Slowly more senses started to come back. Her head ached, her throat felt raw, and she was cold, so cold. Those same hands lifted her up, set her on her own two feet which immediately gave way until she managed to focus more on the task. Karai clung to the distant reality, forced herself on sheer willpower to stand. She felt something soft wrapped around her body. A towel? That's right...she was naked. She'd been in the shower. But then...

Karai's eyes snapped open as she willed herself back into awareness. Her first response, as always, was to struggle. She shoved Leo away but without his support she swayed and he flew to catch her, and in that instant their eyes met and she saw how he looked at her without fear or respect but as if she was a weak little girl. And she hated him for it.

She slapped him right in the jaw, screaming; "Don't touch me!" but Leonardo didn't even flinch, and he didn't let go of Karai.

Taken aback, the Kunoichi slapped him again, harder this time, but to not effect. She slapped him again, and again, growing more frustrated until she felt more tears brimming. "GO AWAY!"

Her last attack Leo blocked, but his eyes didn't change.

'He's still looking down on me...' Karai growled, tightened the towel around her body and lashed out with full intent. She ducked under his arm, swinging around to try and pin him inside the shower but her plan failed and he caught her arm. She knew he would try to immobilize her so she quickly slipped out of his hold, tossing him out of the bathroom where she had more room to attack.

Their fight escalated faster than wild fire, and Karai forgot about her nakedness entirely as the towel unwound as she roundhouse kicked into into the wall. She didn't care anymore. She'd felt naked since the first time she'd let him pick her up off that alleyway. It was _his _fault that she felt this bare, this raw. She wasn't pitiful! She was a ninja master, a warrior, she was her father's weapon and that was all she needed to be.

Karai used Shredder's sweeping kick technique to knock Leo off the ground, then she was on top of him like a flash, pinned him down with her arm pressed dangerously against his neck. Her fist raised, waiting to strike. Yet even now, when she had the high ground, when his life dangled in her hands, those blues eyes didn't show any fear.

"Don't pity me! I could kill you right now, I _should_ kill you!" She panted, raven hair still damp and clinging to her face, her eyes mad with furry. It was a sight to behold.

But rather than plea for his life or struggle Leo did something Karai couldn't have expected; he closed his eyes.

She felt his body relax, he let his head fall back against the hardwood floor and he waited, patiently, for her to make her move.

The room was silent except for the sounds of Karai catching her breath, and the moment crawled on as if time had slowed to a halt.

Karai's fist fell reluctantly to her side, her arm lifted off his neck and Leo breathed deeply. Without opening his eyes he sat up, fumbled for the blanket on the couch, and wrapped the worn cotton around Karai's small frame.

He felt her draw the blanket closer and finally opened his eyes again. Blue met amber and a silent conversation took place between them.

"Never mistake my concern for pity." Leo offered, his voice strained, but gentle.

Karai didn't say a thing. How could he be so trusting? How could he care so much about someone he knew nothing about?

Just then there was a knock at the door and Leo immediately went on edge. Leaving Karai to collect herself he crept to the door to check but relaxed when he saw it was just Murakami's deliver boy. Per his instructions the teen left the bags of food on the door, leaving quickly before any neighbors saw.

Leo waited thirty seconds before opening the door just enough to shoot his hand out and grab the two bags of Japanese take out.

Karai hadn't moved, but he sat back down next to her as if it were the most natural thing in the world and began unpacking each dish so she could choose.

"I didn't know what you like so I ordered um...everything."

The girl eyed the food, her appetite from earlier had left completely, but the soup smelled delicious and she couldn't help being drawn to it.

She picked up one of the little plastic japanese style spoons and reached for the container, sneaking the occasional glance at the mutant beside her as he picked through the options. She should have known he would go for the pizza gyoza first.

Karai opened the lid and the aroma from the soup was pure heaven. Traditional kitsune soba.

"This smells too good to be true."

Leo snuck a sideways glance and smiled. That was probably the most normal thing she'd ever said to him. No sarcasm, no flirting tone, just genuine happiness.

"Murakami's is the best."

She broke the wooden chopsticks and started eating, delicately at first, then with vigor as the taste of the soup overpowered any idea of dignity she had left to cling to.

"Have you ever eaten there before?"

Karai nodded. "Once."

Not wanting to elaborate more on that particular incident she quickly followed with her own question.

"So does he know you're...ya know. Turtles?"

Leo looked at the gyoza on his chopsticks quizzically, thinking over the answer carefully. "I think he does. He implied once. But somehow he doesn't seem to mind."

"Maybe cuz he's blind."

The blue leader shrugged a complacent "sure."

Somewhere after that the conversation turned to Japan and what the country was like. As much as the boys felt like regular Americans their Japanese heritage was still a strong part of their lives. To have never been there, and probably never will, the prospect of hearing about it from someone his own age was thrilling. And Karai enjoyed recalling her home, even found herself becoming a bit homesick for the land and her native language. She didn't even really notice when they switched completely to Japanese at one point.

Feeling full and content, Leo leaned back against the couch when it slowly dawned on him that he and Karai had just spend the past half hour talking. Just talking, just two teenagers laughing and sharing stories. He snuck a peak over at the girl as she drank the last of the soup from her bowl and smiled at the tiny miracle. Especially considering it wasn't that long ago that she was so furious she nearly killed him. Killed him in the nude...

As much as Leo tried to keep his eyes on her face he couldn't help what his mind subconsciously picked up...or how it tortured him now with entirely inappropriate thoughts.

"So what does your family think you're doing anyway?"

"Hm?"

Karai raised an eyebrow at Leo's glazed expression, chuckling as she realized that his gaze was fixed on her.

"Should I get dressed?"

The blue ninja snapped out of his musings and stammered to answer her previous question. "Oh! They think I'm on a solo recon mission."

A smile tugged at her lips and Karai stood up to wander into the bedroom, her eyes on the closet.

"I guess that's as good an excuse as any. But what happens when you come back without any info?"

Leo's face scrunched with thought. "Huh. I didn't really think that far ahead."

Much to her surprise and amusement Karai found a closet's worth of oversized dress shirts and a heap of clean shorts.

"Well, the Krang's got something big doing down in the Bronx. It shouldn't take too long to figure out what."

Leo hadn't realized what Karai was up to until she came back wearing a red shirt that could almost pass for a dress and some wide fitting black shorts.

"That's a good place to start but—Wait. You're wearing some strange guy's clothes?"

Karai shrugged and flopped onto the couch.

"Why not? We already ate all his food. Not to mention the breaking and entering."

Leo felt a twinge of guilt about that, but there was really nothing to be done.

"True..."

Just then Leo's phone started to ring and he looked down to see Mikey's goofy face on caller ID.

Excusing himself from the room, Leo took the call.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Everything bro, Splinter's been asking about you and Raph and Don keep asking me all these suspicious questions! And I think they suspect something."

Leo rolled his eyes but assured his brother that he'd meet them all on patrol. Karai had healed enough and she could certainly take care of herself now.

When he returned to the living room Karai's eyes were closed, and he could tell from the way her chest rose and fell with perfect rhythm that she'd fallen asleep again. He lifted her off the couch with ease, took special precaution not to bump her into the wall as he squeezed through the door into the bedroom, then set her down with a feather's lightness.

He took the opportunity to examine her cuts without the bandages, decided that he would bring more first aid supplies when he came back later. For now he re-wrapped the cuts with what he had. When that was done he went into the kitchen, did the dishes, put the leftovers into the fridge and straightened up the room from their fight. By the time he finished there was almost no trace of them left. As if that day never happened.

When he could find nothing else to do Leo couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips. He didn't want to leave.

As crazy as they had been these past 24 hours had been some of the best of his life. He felt so alive here with Karai in this strange apartment. He felt...normal. Almost humanl. It was a shame it had to come to an end so soon.

The sun wouldn't set for few more hours, but Leo was sure he could climb down the fire escape without being noticed. There was a sewer entrance in the alley that wouldn't take much time to get to.

Leo went back to the bedroom to check on Karai one last time, and nearly jumped out of his skin when she opened her eyes. To his surprise she smiled again, ran a hand through her hair, and asked in an a sleepy voice, "What are you dressed up for?"

"Um..." It took him a second to remember that he'd put all his gear back on. "I was going to try and head back home, I saw a manhole in the alley. It's not far."

Karai put on a fake pout. "Without saying goodbye?"

Leo gulped, and it was Karai's turn to be surprised as he knelt down to meet her gaze at her own level.

"I'll come back later...during patrol, if you want."

Karai dwelled on the thought for just a moment before nodding 'yes.'

"But bring me some books. This guy just has music magazines."

Leo cracked a dazzling smile. "Sure! We've got a bunch of comics, or Master Splinter's haiku collection?"

The warrior woman smirked and rested back against the pillows. "Surprise me."

When she opened her eyes again the sun had set low on the horizon, only purple and burning orange remained in the twilight sky, and Leo was gone.

She got up and stretched until the kinks in her muscles worked themselves out. Soon after she felt the rumble of her stomach once again and Karai dove into the cold Japanese left overs, not bothering to heat them up as she plopped into the couch. She chewed in silence for a bit before eyeing the old TV in the corner and couldn't help but wonder what kind of channels it got.

After a quick dive in the couch cushions Karai sat comfortably flipping through cable shows. She settled for a marathon of a show where fat people tried to fit through holes in a moving wall.

So when Leo landed on the fire escape a few hours later and heard, "Oh come on! Just jump through it!" he his lips turned up with an amused twinge of a smile.

He opened the window with ease and slipped into the living room.

"I didn't know you liked TV."

"Who doesn't like TV?" She sassed.

Leo scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "True."

She eyed the bag slung over his shoulder and stretched out her arms. "Gimme."

The interlude that night was brief, as Leo explained the others were watching him closely since they were hadn't quite bought the story about where he'd been. But the pair agreed that they would meet again the next night when tempers had died down.

The next morning Karai rose early, ate the last of the takeout and decided she should go out and have some fun. She'd never spent much time in New York during the day. Most of the clothing stores she found along the way bored her but she did manage to find an interesting hole-in-the-wall run by a guy with a spike through his nose.

And although it was frivolous she bought some new makeup as well, plus an armful of groceries at a store called Duane Reed. As she lugged all four bags of loot back to the apartment Karai began to wonder if this feeling of content bliss and satisfaction was what all teenage girls felt after a shopping spree. That's right...she'd wanted to feel normal. But how long could this last?

When she settled back into the apartment she changed into the workout cloths she'd bought and ran through every kata she knew. Training on her own Karai felt much more like herself, or rather, how she thought she should be. Even if it felt comfortable to spend her day as regular teenager that just wasn't who she was. She is a kunoichi, and there is nothing remotely normal about her life. Even if she...left the Foot...it wouldn't change who she was at her core. But she could enjoy this time while it lasted, maybe she would even learn something new about herself.

Leo came right around the time she finished her workout, and she couldn't have been more pleased by the look on his face when he saw her new duds.

His eyes traveled up, then down, then up again. A plain black tank with metal studs on the shoulders complimented casual black short and a spiked bracelet. There was also something different about her face. Makeup? Whatever it was didn't scream, 'evil villain' like her old style did.

"Um...You didn't, steal all this stuff, right?"

Karai chuckled before taking a long swig her water bottle. "No Captain Goody-Goody. I...borrowed...some money from the Purple Dragons."

"Oh. Phew."

"Why? If I'd robbed a place you'd have to take me in?" She held out her hands playfully as if she were being handcuffed.

"No. I wouldn't."

But it was nice to know that she hadn't broken the law recently, current counts of apartment theft aside, since it meant that maybe she was taking a step in the right direction.

"Speaking of which."

She dug through her new purse—leather with a Japanese inspired design—pulled out a wad of cash and stuffed it in Leo's hand before he could object.

"That's for the food. I know you guys don't really get paid for your vigilante services."

At first Leo wasn't sure how he felt about taking money that belonged to criminals, but as he smoothed down the paper to tuck in his belt he realized that some of that money probably belonged to Murakami anyway.

They spend the next half hour just enjoying each others company, and they did so for the next week. Every night was a comfortable routine. Sometimes TV, sometimes comic books, sometimes training, whatever they did for the brief time they could be together was always fun. It was Leo's favorite part of the day. He got to watch the girl of his dreams laugh and play without a care in the world. Almost as if they weren't ninjas at all, not sworn enemies, and certainly not fighting an intergalactic war against a bunch of talking brains.

The time was also precious for Karai, perhaps not as special as it was for Leo as her days were just as free as her nights, but she enjoyed the connection. She enjoyed discovering that even after spending so much time with him Leonardo didn't bore her. She secretly hoped he never would.

It was 10:31. Leo was late, and Karai brooded over a second helping of shrimp chips she'd found at an Asian themed market earlier that day. He'd never made her wait before, and she hated feeling like she was some damn princess in a tower.

She was about to go out and look for him, maybe catch him with his guard down on patrol when a quiet knock at the window drew her attention.

To her surprise she didn't find Leo on the balcony but the preppy orange one. Michelangelo? Unsure, she took a fighting stance.

"What do you want?"

"Aw common, let me in! The neighbors might see..."

His big blue eyes shone desperately at her and Karai found herself opening the window against her better judgement.

Mikey scrambled into the room, and before she could ask him again what he wanted his attention was whisked away by the sight of a human apartment. "Woah! This place is way cooler than Aprils! What does this do?"

He started to approach the piano but Karai grabbed the ends of his mask and yanked his face to hers.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh...right." The freckled turtle's mood sank like a heavy rock, and Karai felt a weight on her chest that she'd never experienced before.

"Leo said he's not gunna make it tonight, cuz he got beat up by Dogpound and the Krang. They have this new ship and we weren't really prepared...Did you know your dad was teaming up with those weirdos?"

Karai let the news wash over her, overwhelmed by multiple feelings at once. Concern. Disappointment, a bit of anger, slight panic all mingled together in a cocktail of need to see her friend. To know that he was ok.

"How bad is it?"

Mikey scratched his head reluctantly. "Well...kinda bloody looking, but Splinter said he'd probably be fine. He kinda passed out after he told me to come here."

Karai took a breath, her fists clenched. She hated this. She hated that Leo wasn't there, she hated finding out just how important their nights together were, and she hated most that there was nothing she could do.

Finally she looked up at Mikey, her eyes blazing.

"I want to see him."


	4. Blood and Tears

Mikey carried Karai through the caverns of their home. She was blindfolded, but he still took extra precautions to lead her down a very confusing set of twists and turns.

When twenty minutes had passed he heard her breath a frustrated hiss. "Damn it, I have no idea where we are. Just h_urry up_."

"That's exactly what someone who wanted to ambush us would say..." He answered, his voice low with suspicion.

"UGH! Look, I don't care. I just..."

She trailed off, became very quiet after that, and Mikey felt a shift in her mood. It reminded him of Raph when he got grumpy and didn't want to talk about his feelings. So he didn't press, but he did correct his course and head strait for the Lair after that.

If Leo trusted her, maybe he should too.

It took another two minutes to get to the back entrance after all that looping around, but when he finally got to the Lair Mikey moved slowly again to make sure the coast was clear. The ninja wasn't quite sure how he would explain this to his family if anyone but Leo happened to see Karai.

He snuck as quietly as possible into Leo's room, and as soon as he was inside Karai struggled to get off his back. She could smell blood thick in the air and the strange musky scent she'd come to expect.

"Woah dude." Mikey leaned closer to the ground but she didn't need it. Karai had already leapt off his back and began tearing at her piece of cloth over her eyes.

She wasn't quite prepared for what she saw, and the image of Leo lying broken and unconscious on the ground was hard to swallow. Less than 24 hours earlier he'd been laughing with her about some stupid gameshow, now he was battered and bruised and god knows what else.

Karai took Leo's hand and held it tightly. Not really knowing what else to do. He'd been so good at it, but nurturing just wasn't in her nature. She just wanted him to open his eyes and tell her it wasn't as bad as it looks. Then she could tease him for loosing to a wiggly brain and a dog.

Meanwhile Mikey's cheeks flushed from the smile that crept onto his cheeks. It was only with great self control that he held in the "awwww" that purred in his head just then. He had to admit, if this was all some big trick it was a good one.

Karai sat there with Leo for a very long time, unmoved, trying to remember what he'd done that she enjoyed so much.

The sound of footsteps directly behind her put Karai on alert and she whirled around to defend herself—but it was just the orange one again. He offered her a cold bowl of water and a rag.

She took it, but was unsure what to do with it. All Leo wounds were already sterilized and bandaged.

Mikey tapped the side of his own noggin. "Put it over his head. Dude's probably got a raging headache."

"Oh..."

Karai felt clumsy as she dipped the cloth in the bowl of cold water, wrung it out, and set it on Leo's forehead.

The chill of it did seem to calm him a bit. He settled more peacefully in his sleep, and Karai let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

She dipped the cloth in the water a few more times, each time growing more and more brave in her movements. She wiped the sweat off his brow, ran the cloth along his head and neck, and when he coughed up a bit of blood she cleaned that away too.

Karai forced herself to look at the wound, a thick gouge across his shoulder that probably dislocated his arm. There was also bruising around his stomach, the same on his face.

"It's pretty scary, huh?"

She turned her head to the source of the small voice and saw the orange turtle sitting next to her. How long had he been there?

"Yeah."

"Leo's always been the strongest. I mean, don't tell Raph I said that or I'd be toast but...it's true. That's why he's in charge. Seein' him like this just ain't right..."

Karai couldn't help but notice the exhaustion and worry in the turtle's bright blue eyes. Why hadn't she noticed it before? She felt like she should say something. God, what though? She really wasn't any good at this.

"You said it wasn't a big deal though. He'll be fine."

Mikey nodded, but she could tell her words hadn't done any good.

She turned away from the smaller turtle, not wanting to engage him anymore. It wasn't worth it.

A few more minutes passed by in complete silence, until—mostly motivated by growing boredom—Karai tried again.

"So...which one are you again?"

Anyone else in the world would have probably been insulted by the question, but the turtle just grinned.

"Michelangelo. I rock the nun-chucks."

"...charmed."

For the first time Karai actually noticed that he had freckles. She had to admit it was pretty adorable.

Just then Leo tossed in his sleep, and Karai's breath caught in her throat. Blue eyes fluttered open then immediately squeezed shut with pain. Leo pushed through it, his vision was blurred, but he could have sworn he saw...

"Karai?"

His voice sounded so weak, it made her feel small and useless.

"Obviously."

The hand she held tightened around hers and Karai knew that Leo probably thought he was hallucinating from the way he kept squinting in her direction.

"But I'm..."

"At your place? Yeah. The goofball brought me."

"But-"

"Dude, she told me she'd turn me into turtle soup if I didn't!"

Leo exhaled and relaxed further into his pillow as his eyes closed again. "You shouldn't be here."

Hot temper flared in her cheeks and she jerked her hand out of his. "What? I let him _blindfold _me and all you're gunna say is I shouldn't be here?"

Leo's eyes widened with panic and he reached out for her again. "No, no that's not what I mean! If Raph or Donnie or...Splinter...find you, you could be in real trouble! You'd be completely outnumbered."

Karai's face twisted and Leo knew she was still brooding over the unintended insult. He grasped fruitlessly for the right words to make it better but it was hard to think through the throbbing pain of his head and shoulder.

Unexpectedly, Mikey butted in; "Leo bro, I will protect your girlfriend with my life, on your behind."

Karai's heart skipped a beat as she whipped around to witness the genuine seriousness on Mikey's face.

What was _with _these guys?

Leo smacked himself in the face, immediately regretting it. "Mikey she's not my girl-"

"I'm his friend." She interrupted.

The blue leader looked at Karai with brows raised. It was the first time she'd ever really admitted to it. The thrill of it made his heart beat wildly in his chest.

"I just happen to be a girl."

Then she turned to smirk at him and Leo thought he might die then and there.

"Ok, whatever you say dudes."

Mikey winked, very obviously, in their direction before excusing himself to stand guard at the door.

When the younger brother was gone the pair sat in a strange, sticky sort of quiet. Karai's eyes fell back to his wound and Leo didn't feel like pushing her. He knew she was already stretched beyond her comfort zone just being there in the Lair.

"Sorry I made you worry." He offered quietly, hoping the words would be enough to smooth some of her feathers back down.

"I wasn't worried." Although she denied it Karai looked up and met his eyes, searched them and found so many layers there. Even though he was the one battered and hurt all his focus was on _her, _he was concerned for her and about what she would do. And despite his words from earlier she saw that he was genuinely glad to see her.

A wave of pain rattled him just then, but Karai was quick to press the cold cloth against his head and that seemed to help.

Leo breathed heavily and his eyes squeezed tight, Karai almost looked away but she forced herself not to. Instead she reached out her other hand, gently traced the bruises on his face. She remembered when she's slapped him, how he didn't even flinch, and he didn't bruise after. Whatever happened to him tonight must have been something horrific.

The blue leader only had the energy for half a grin but it was enough to get his appreciation across. Her touch was such a welcome change. Warm, small hands ran gentle circles over his skin, and when he focused on it he could forget about most of the throbbing in his head and shoulder.

She told him about the episode of "Wipeout" he'd missed and Leo tried not to laugh, since the strain of it usually hurt more than it was worth.

The evening was starting to feel pretty normal until they heard Mikey scrambling outside the door and a few meager squeaks of, "Wait, don't go in there!"

"Why?" Raph's rough voice demanded, but the younger brother's explanation was drowned out by the sound of blood rushing through Karai's ears. She looked desperately around the room, no where to hide.

Before she could think of a plan B her eyes met a piercing green gaze that instantly heated with rage.

The bulky turtle drew his Sais and would have leapt at her if Mikey didn't grab him with his nun chuck chains to hold him back.

"Mikey! What gives!"

"Chill bro, she's here cuz Leo's busted up."

Raph struggled hard against the hold, and if looks could kill then Karai and Mikey would be dead.

"She's WHY Leo got hurt in the first place!"

"Enough."

Leo's voice commanded silence in the room, but to Karai's horror he forced himself to sit up and face his brother, his good arm outstretched to cover Karai defensively. The effort of it etched heavy lines in his face.

"No. I want a legitimate reason why the daughter of our _mortal enemy_ is in our **house." **Raph growled back.

"Why she's here isn't your concern, but Mikey was careful, our position is still secure."

The red fighter whirled around to glare at Mikey. "You brought her here?"

Their brother cowered but stayed his ground. "She wanted to see if Leo was ok..."

Karai felt her temper building.

"What, are you two friends again?"

She hated being spoken about as if she weren't in the room.

"What of it?!"

Even more she hated that Leo was still trying to protect her.

"I'll show you what!"

"That's it!" The warrior woman rose and in two swift strides stared Raph down right to his face. "If you have a problem with me then you can I can duke it out later, but for now you'll just have to **deal**."

Karai shifted back to Leo just as quickly, crouched next to him with a hand on his soft front shell "And _you_. Don't be an idiot, you're going to pull your stitches out." and with a swift move made him lie back down.

The three boys felt like deer caught in the headlights of a minivan. They'd never had a woman boss them around before, especially a deadly ninja woman whose tone reminded them of Splinter on a bad day.

While Karai fussed over Leo, Mikey leaned in closer to Raph and whispered, "I told you."

Raph growled at him but even he had to admit that there was genuine concern and attentiveness in the way she checked Leo's wounds for bleeding.

When Mikey untied him Raph remained in the same spot, his arms crossed to show he still disproved but he at least put away his weapons.

Eventually Leo grabbed Karai's hand to stop her movements and flashed her a quiet smile before beckoning his fiery brother over.

"If you're voice hasn't already woken everyone up I want you to promise you won't tell Donnie or Splinter about this."

Raph opened his mouth to object but Leo beat him to it.

"No. I trust Karai, and if you trust me then you won't say anything."

Raph blew an aggravated breath from his lungs and took a heavy seat on the floor.

"Fine. But you owe me, and I'm staying here to keep an eye on things."

Leo glanced at Karai for her approval, but the girl just shrugged, so he nodded a yes.

The next few moments were...awkward, to say the least. Karai felt the glare of sharp green eyes on the back of her head and Leo desperately wished it was just the two of them again. With an audience Karai wasn't very attentive anymore. He still had her hand in his so he took a leap of faith and brought it up to his face again, made her hand cup his cheek.

She didn't seem to mind, so he closed his eyes and indulged in the touch of her cool fingers.

Gradually picking up on what he wanted, Karai started rubbing slow circles on his scalp, and could have sworn she heard him humming.

Eventually he fell asleep, and Karai let go. She sat back and brewed over the entire evening. The more she thought about the more useless and ridiculous she felt. In hind sight Leo would have been just fine, probably better off, without her. In her usual knee-jerk reaction to self doubt Karai responded with anger. The more she thought about it the further she sank into her temper until she felt like she would burst if she didn't let it out somehow.

She looked around the room until she found Leo's swords, picked up one of them and swung it over her shoulders.

Raph had dozed off a bit so she tapped him with her foot, not at all surprised when his first reaction was to raise his fists. "Settle down hot shot. I want you to take me back to the surface."

The turtle narrowed his eyes. "Why do you have Leo's sword?"

Her fists bunched and Karai tried not to lash out at the teen. "I need to blow off some steam."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "You're going after the Krang?"

He recognized the blaze behind her amber eyes and felt a bit of respect for the girl's audacity. "Fine. It's your skin not mine."

When the pain woke Leo again Raph had just re entered the room, and it didn't take him long to piece together who, and what, were missing.

"Raph, where's Karai?" He demanded, his tone already on the offensive.

"She wanted to go back up. So I took her." He nonchalantly picked up one of the comics on Leo's bookshelf and plopped down opposite his brother to read it.

Yet something felt wrong.

"Raph...where's my sword?"

"Your girlfriend took it. She wants to go beat up some Krang so I say we let her."

Leo bolted up in bed, ignoring the pain. "You what?! She can't take on all the Krang at once!"

"Nope. But she can try."

When Leo tried to force himself to stand Raph raced to hold him back. "Woah, hold on. Calm down, ok? She said she's going after an outpost. It's not a big deal."

Seeing his brother in such immense pain, all for some girl who was by all rights their enemy, threw Raph for a loop. As he got Leo back into bed and checked his wound the teen wondered how much they really meant to each other. It was obvious Leo liked her, and that he trusted her again. He didn't like it, but the evidence was starting to stack up in Karai's favor...

Raph brooded over the fact as he settled back down to keep watch over his brother. He could see the intensity in Leo's eyes that meant he wasn't ready to give up on the notion of saving Karai.

Leo lay there in his room in a state of emotional agony. All he could think of was Karai fighting alone, no armor, no back up, just his katana and her own expert skill. What if she made a mistake and got herself hurt, or killed? What if she was captured and the Krang brought her back to her father? What if he never saw her again...

It was that thought that tormented him the most, so when he heard Raph snoring lightly the turtle grabbed his remaining weapon and used it as a cane to stand. It must have been three or four in the morning by then, but Leo was sure he could catch up to her before it was too late.

He hobbled through the sewers to the opening directly below the apartment, his body numb with effort an his limbs weak. When he climbed out he rested against the side of the building and wondered if he really could make it all the way up.

Karai leapt from building to building in a rush to get back to the apartment before the Krang sent their tracking ship after her. She'd all but obliterated their outpost base, destroyed most of their tec and slaughtered most of the wiggly pathetic brains. So why didn't she feel any better?"

She landed on the familiar window with easy, favoring her right side just a little. All in all she came out of the fight not much worse for wear. A few bruises, a few scrapes, but that was it.

As she slid the window open her eyes went wide and her heart sank. Leo sat propped up against the front door, his head back and blood trickling from his right arm.

"What is wrong with you?" She demanded, dropping to her knees to check him over. A million questions raced through her mind. How did he get here? Why? How much damage had he done?

Leo just answers weakly, "I could say the same thing. Why would you go against the Krang on your own?"

"I-...I..." Frustrated, Karai hit her fists into the floor. "I was pissed! I needed something to beat up so why not?"

The blue leader mustered his strength and grabbed the girl with his left arm, pulled her in close and hugged her tight. Relief washed over him like gentle waves, and the effort it took to get to this point felt completely worth it. She was ok, she was alive, and she was free.

It took Karai a moment to adjust to the gesture but she too felt that same relief and eventually wrapped her arms around his neck to burry her face there. Here in their apartment she could be herself, she could express all that she'd been holding back in the Lair while his brothers were present.

"If you went after them for revenge that was stupid. You're...you're way more important to me than revenge Karai."

He felt hot tears against his cheek and Leo froze, completely out of his depth and unsure what to do next.

Karai quickly broke the hug and turned away, wiping angrily at her cheeks. "Damn it." She cursed under her breath when the tears wouldn't stop.

How long had she waited to hear those words? Not from Leo of course but from her father. Yet somehow the effect was still so poignant. It felt like he'd ripped open her chest and squeezed her heart.

She felt Leo reaching out for her and dodged to stand and gather any leftover medical supplies. "You probably tore your stupid stitches out. Just...stay there."

Karai left Leo there by the door feeling completely dumbfounded, and growing more and more guilty as he realized what those words probably meant to her. He dawned on him then that for all the time they' spend together in the past week he still didn't know anything about her as a person. He knew nothing of her past or her dreams, he felt like he could guess some of her hurt but it wasn't the same as knowing.

He wanted to go to her, badly, but he couldn't will his legs to move and he knew she needed space.

When she returned he shot a tiny, apologetic smile in her direction and she answered by focusing on fixing him up. Somehow she just wasn't ready to share everything with him, and just like her naked outburst Karai hoped that if she just didn't talk about it that Leo would forget it ever happened.

A few minutes later Karai noticed his head start to droop and wondered if sitting with his back to the wall was really so comfortable.

"You should call your brothers."

Leo shook his head without opening his eyes. "I'll do it later..."

Karai looked out the window and saw the sun rising in the sky. There wouldn't be much time later.

She fumbled in his belt for the bulky shell shaped phone but his hand caught hers and held it still.

The kunoichi sighed, she didn't think she could carry Leo to the bed so instead she reached for the couch blanket and pulled it over him. But when she tried to let go of his hand the grasp was like an iron vice. Gentle, yet forceful, and she knew he wasn't planning on letting her go. Instead of making a fuss she gave in and leaned against the wall with him, pulling part of the blanket onto her own lap. She snuck a quick glance at her friend and saw his face set so still and peaceful it almost made her worry again.

She settled against this good shoulder, felt a warm check shift to rest atop her own and relaxed.

Somehow she still couldn't sleep, and ended up staring at the small, cramped living room she'd grown so accustomed to. It was strange to think how different her life had been just seven days earlier. In such a short time so much had happened, so much had changed about herself and her world. It was more open now, she saw more in people and was actually able to pick up on their moods. She'd never been good at that, not on a personal level. If Karai noticed something about a person it would be their point of weakness, and she only cared to find it so she could exploit it. Now here she was, with her own independent routine and a friend she could lean on—literally—and maybe one more? Once he stopped being suspicious Mikey took really well to her. It still baffled Karai that no one had ever "taken well to her" besides a group of mutated turtles.

She looked up at Leo, and from this angle he almost looked human. She wondered if he were a regular teenage boy if she would have fallen in love with him by now? Or would it have even gotten this far? Karai shook her head. If he'd been a regular boy he never would have interested her in the first place. They probably would've never met on friendly terms, just as enemies. No, it was much better this way. Her hand tightened on the three fingers that held hers and as Karai finally drifted off to sleep the sun of a new day shone in the pair of unlikely friends.


	5. Changing Tides

It was late in the afternoon when the brightness of the sun in Karai's face started to draw her out of her dreams. The summer heat had returned, and the sticky humidly of it made her feel like she was being smothered. She kicked off the blanket and squirmed, still coming out of the fog of sleep. Thats when she felt a hard, hot body stir next to hear and nearly jumped out of her skin.

Karai sprawled backwards on the floor and but when she saw the blurry shape of a turtle she remembered, and felt ridiculous.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and went through the routine. Karai checked Leo's bandages and any major bumps and scrapes—everything looked fine—and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but when she put a hand to his head he was burning up. She hastily checked again to see if it was just the heat but no, she was sure he had a fever. That's when panic started to set in. Was it an infection? Something worse? How the hell was she supposed to deal with this?

She carefully undid the wrappings over his shoulder and chest, laboriously checking for any signs of infection. Nothing. She checked his pulse and it was steady, strong even.

After that Karai tapped Leo on the cheek until he woke up, which didn't take very long. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Leo winced at first and his voice growled with sleep as he answered, "Fine...really hot but fine..."

"You're not nauseous?"

Leo shook his head and the girl puffed out a sighed of relief as she ran a hand through her short hair. That ruled out infection or a serious fever. The only thing left to do was get his temperature down, and a lukewarm shower would certainly do the trick. So Karai left Leo just long enough to switch on the water and wait for it to get to the right temperature.

"Com'mon hero." Returning swiftly, she swung his good arm over her shoulder and heaved the heavy mutant onto his feet.

It was slow going but eventually Karai got Leo into the bathroom, only pausing when she realized she hadn't thought about how to get him under the stream without getting wet herself. Well, since he couldn't stand without her help there was really nothing to be done about it. Taking a bracing breath she stepped into the water with him. The cool of it actually felt fantastic on her skin and in the end she didn't care that her clothes got soaked. She tried to lower Leo to the floor but suddenly his arms tightened around her and his head dipped into the crook of her shoulder.

This time the kunoichi didn't need time to adjust, she simply accepted the contact. In fact, she was surprised by how serene it felt, standing in his embrace under the steady flow of gentle rain with his warm skin pressed against hers. She felt completely calm, and safe, almost like a child. Trusting him this much was such an unexpected relief, and Karai imagined that she could definitely get used to the sensation.

It wasn't until she felt more of his weight pressing on her that Karai finally eased him down to sit on the tiled floor.

Leo pulled back, rested against the shower walls and opened his eyes to look at Karai now that he was more awake. "You're all wet." He mumbled, brushing some dripping hair out of her eyes.

"Yeah, that's generally what showers are for."

"I mean your...your clothes and..." Quickly realizing the only direction that sentence could continue in Leo shot that thought down. "That is, you just bought those so-"

A wicked smile crossed her face and Leo found himself torn between hoping she'd take her cloths off just to tease him and desperately wishing that she wouldn't.

While Leo blabbered Karai reaching for the washcloth by the sink, lathering it with soap and started cleaning all the scrapes and bruises on his left arm—which only made him stammer harder.

"Cool cloths are easy to come by. Huge mutant turtles aren't."

"..." Leo's nose scrunched as he tried to decipher that comment. "How come whenever you talk I can't tell if you're trying to complement, or insult me?"

Karai chuckled and handed him the washcloth. "You can reach the rest right?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I think so." As hard as he tried to hide any disappointment Karai must have seen it because she started laughing.

Feeling that he'd suffered enough of her teasing, Leo decided to return some of the abuse. He lathered the soap between his fingers until he had a whole hand full of bubbles, then squished it into her hair and rubbed with expert speed.

Karai cursed in Japanese and spit at the suds that got in her mouth. The kunoichi raised her hands to stop Leo's assault, but by the time she smacked his hand away it was too late, her hair was a complete mess.

She punched him lightly in the shoulder, then gave him a slow smile. "Not very creative...but not bad."

Karai turned to rinse out her hair and Leo picked up the washcloth to start his bath. Though he found himself more than a little bit distracted. Despite feeling guilty about it he watched the water pour down her slender neck, and was mesmerized by the motions of her fingers as they massaged shampoo through her short black and gold hair.

One of the best things about Karai is that she didn't treat him any differently—well, she didn't treat him like a freak—so he often forgot that he was. But now he wondered what it must be like to have hair. To have to wash it and style it. He imagined running his fingers through hers and felt a sudden chill up his spine that left him so embarrassed he averted his gaze once and for all.

When Karai finished she stepped out of the shower and grabbed once of the towels from the rack to dry off.

"Don't look." She ordered and Leo clamped his eyes tight. No sight on this earth would be worth it if she thought he'd been peeking.

Her heard her cloths hit the floor with a wet slop and all but held his breath while she toweled off.

"Couldn't you do that outside?"

Karai stuck her head into the shower again, thoroughly enjoying the tormented look on his face.

"That wouldn't have been as much fun."

She laughed as she left and Leo relaxed again, resigning to the fact that he would probably never be able to prank on her level.

Karai came back a few minutes later to check Leo's fever. To her satisfaction she found him significantly cooler to the touch and turned off the water. When he was dry she applied more antiseptic to his shoulder, wrapped it tight, then left him to finish everything else.

After taking his time with the other dressings Leo stood up on questionably shaky legs, but did manage to make his way into the living room on his own. There he found Karai curled up on the couch with a plate of very strange looking food in her hands and the channel turned to a particularly gruesome episode of _I shouldn't be Alive. _

"What is this?" He poked what he assumed was his helping of the dish with an air of caution.

"Japanese omelet." The girl answered before stuffing another bite in her mouth.

Taking a leap of faith Leo sat down next to her, scooped up a spoonful with both egg and rice and opened wide.

The taste wasn't so bad, but the texture was just bizarre. The mutant forced himself to gulp down almost half of it to satisfy the growl of his stomach but nothing more. Thankful the meal was over, Leo relaxed into the worn gray cushions and felt extremely pleased when Karai leaned into to rest her head on him. It was really amazing how easy she'd become around him. He thought back to when Mikey offered to protect her and Leo hoped she might develop a similar relationship with his younger brother. She deserved to have more friends she trusted.

It was this daydream that lead him into a deeper sleep, which Karai exploited as soon as she felt his chest heave evenly with familiar rhythm. She got up to search his gear for the T-phone, found it almost instantly, and dialed Mikey's number.

Meanwhile...

A few minutes earlier Raph woke to find Leo's bed empty, and his first reaction was to find his youngest brother and pummel him into the ground.

"MIKEY!" He roared as he stormed through the Lair, ignoring the odd looks he got from the rest of his family as they all sat down to breakfast.

"I didn't do it! I have no idea what it is but I didn't do it!" The orange turtle exclaimed as he locked himself in his own room.

When jiggling the handle repeatedly didn't work Raph hissed out a sharp breath and tried to calm down. "I know you have...Leo's Space Heros comic where." He signed in slight disgust. "Captain Ryan falls in love with the...evil alien."

"What?" Mikey opened the door just wide enough to reveal his extremely confused reaction, but that was all Raph needed. He shoved his way into Mikey's room and pulled him close to growl; "Leo's gone. What do you know about this?"

When Mikey's eyes widened in alarm Raph knew his brother was just as clueless as he was.

"Where does he go every night on patrol?"

"No idea..." Mikey's eyes shot down to the floor and Raph knew that he lying. His tell was incredibly obvious after all.

Raph raised his fist in a threatening gesture and Mikey raised his own to block. "Tell me."

"No way dude! Leo pummel me if I told!"

"**I'll **pummel you if you don't tell."

Just then Mikey's phone went off, but before he could answer it Raph grabbed it first.

"Leo where the hell-"

"Oh good, it's the angry one."

The sound of Karai's voice on the phone only fanned the flames of Raph's temper more.

"What did you do?"

"What did I do? You were supposed to watch him!" She snapped back before remembering why she'd called in the first place. "Anyway, when the sun goes down just come get him. The goofy one will tell you the address."

Raph narrowed his eyes "How do I know this isn't a trap?" He heard her frustrated groan on the other end and took it for a small victory.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't care if you trust me?"

"Yes." He answered curtly. "But if you really care about Leo you'd care what his family thinks too."

Karai had to admit that he was right, so she begrudgingly asked, "...fine. What's it going to take for you to trust me?"

Raph didn't need to think long before he answered, "I want you to get us all the info on the Krang."

There was silence over the line for a very long time, so long in fact that Raph had began to wonder if she'd hung up. But before he could repeat his demands a very serious, very small voice said, "I'll do it. But I'll need your help."

They stayed on the line another hour plotting out how to pull the scheme off. Karai explained her plan to sneak in, copy their entire mainframe onto a hard drive, then plant a virus in their system that would hopefully crash all the Krang droids and set the invasion back at least a few months. To allow her the time to do this the Turtles would create a diversion using primarily smoke bombs and the sound of April's voice to draw as many Krang away from the controls as possible.

"There's just one problem. We'll need Donnie to make the virus...and he likes you even less than I do."

"We'll also need him to make mobile speakers, a multi terabyte hard drive and some armor for me. But I'm sure you can persuade him with your fists."

Raph actually chuckled and Karai counted it as a small victory.

When Raph came later that night to get Leo he gave Karai the low-down on what Donnie had said, though he was polite enough not to quote verbatim. In short, the boy genius would play along, but he wouldn't like it. His only requirements where that Karai buy the tec he would need and stay far away from April.

"That sounds doable." She leaned against the brick wall as Raph adjusted Leo on his back and climbed out onto the window. For the first time in a long time she felt hesitant, like she wasn't sure she believed her own plan would work. So she kept her eyes to the floor when she said; "I'll text you in a few days when I've got the stuff we need. I want you to tell Leo about the plan, but don't let him come back here until I give the go ahead."

"No complaints here, but...why?"

Karai turned away, stretching her arms high above her head in an attempt to look casual. "I'll probably have to do some things he won't like. I'd prefer he didn't find out about it."

"Life of crime's not so glamorous now is it?" Although he teased her Raph actually felt a bit sorry for Karai. If he'd learned anything about her in the last few days it was that she really did care about Leo, but loyalty to only one of them wasn't enough for him to trust her with his family's safety.

He left without another word, knowing she was the kind of person who would understand his silence for a 'yes.' Then Karai was all alone in the apartment. At first she felt a bit of relief to finally have the space to herself again, but the more time ticked away the more squirrely she felt. The living room started to feel cramped, the air stale and hot, and none of the food she'd bought appealed to her. She picked up Leo's sword, unsheathed it and ran through her katas for about ten minutes before even that failed to ease her bad mood. She went to the window and climbed out onto the balcony, staring angrily at the moon. It was a bit more dangerous to steal from the Purple Dragons at night, but they were like flies on a wall compared to her strength and skill. With her mind set on grabbing at least half the cash they would need tonight Karai switched off the lights and leapt onto the neighboring building.

At the other end of the city an unlucky Krang droid stood in front of the Shredder delivering bad news.

"What?!" He roared. "What do you mean the treaty has been broken?"

"The one known to Krang as the one known as Karai has broken the treaty made by Krang by destroying a base that is posted out which was made by Krang." The robot project images of the wreckage as proof, and Shredder felt more shame that his daughter had been caught on tape than he felt for her actions. He dismissed the alien to mediate on the new information. The way he saw it there were only two possible explanations for this insubordination: betrayal or ignorance, and he would find out which soon enough.

Two days later Leo got a text from a strange number.

_I got the stuff. Meet me at the apartment with the others at 10. _

Leo typed as fast as bulky fingers allowed.

_We'll be there._

When she didn't get a reply Leo assumed the message was delivered anyway and informed his brothers.

"Donnie, bring your measuring tapes and any equipment you'll need to start working."

The tall mutant grumbled as he packed several items into his bag. "I still don't see why we need her for this mission. We could easily accomplish it ourselves."

Raph punched his brother's arm. "The idea is to risk her life instead of ours. Perk up."

Leo bit his tongue before he said something he'd regret. As much as he hated it his brothers had every reason to mistrust Karai. They didn't know her like he did.

"Hey! She's pretty cool as evil villains go ok?" Mikey piped up.

Everyone else rolled their eyes and Donnie gestured at Mikey. "Is nobody else bothered by the 'evil villain' part of that defense?"

"No." Leo answered brashly as he slid his sword onto his back and pushed past Donnie into the sewers. To be honest he wasn't all that excited about inviting his brothers into the space he still considered to be very personal and private. When they all knew the location it wouldn't be his escape anymore, just another hangout spot.

Karai was still unpacking several bags worth of goodies when she heard the boys pile into the living room. She watched with light amusement as they straitened themselves out and Mikey eyed the place with just as much excitement as he'd done the first time he'd come.

As she expected the tall one ignored her completely and went right for the bags on the table, Raph stood against the wall watching her every move, Mikey tried the piano, and Leo approached her with a slightly bashful smile.

"Hey. Hows your shoulder?"

Leo rolled his arm around absent mindedly as if he hadn't really thought about it lately. "It's better."

There was still a large bandage taped to his neck and shoulder but it didn't look nearly as bad as it had three days earlier.

"Good." She patted his other shoulder and took a seat on the couch, switching on the old TV for their usual programming. To her surprise Mikey dropped his interest in the piano and came to sit right at her feet, anxiously waiting for the commercial to end to see what was on.

Leo hesitated. "Shouldn't we be...talking about the plan?"

"Why? We can't do anything until the geek finishes our gadgets."

The leader chewed on that for a moment before he realized she was right and took the seat next to her.

Raph tried not to show interest but in compromise he ended up watching the show from his original place on the wall.

Meanwhile, Donnie focused on his work in the kitchen sorting through the things Karai had bought, taking things apart, finding what he needed, and gradually piecing it all together in a new form. He didn't like being in Karai's apartment. He didn't like that they had left April alone to train with Splinter instead of giving her an excuse to go topside. She almost never got out of the Lair anymore and he could see it was wearing her down. It killed him to watch her live her life that way, trapped, like they were. And as much as she did her best to hide it Donnie knew she missed the surface immensely. Sometimes he caught her just basking in the weak sunlight that poured down from the skylight in their living room and he wished she could go up and soak in real sunlight more often. So when Donnie heard the unified laughter from the other room his temper started to get the better of him. What was so special about this girl anyway?

He waited an impressive ten minutes before he couldn't take it anymore and stormed into the other room. What he saw there only pissed him off more. Leo and Karai were cosy on the couch with a bag of shrimp chips between them, Mikey sat between her legs with his eyes closed as she scratched his head like a cat, and even Raph had taken the other seat besides Leo at the end.

What was wrong with his brothers?

"Maybe I misunderstood, I thought the _entire point _of this mission was that we didn't trust her, but you three look comfortable enough to me."

Everyone turned to look at him and their quizzical expressions didn't help.

Leo got up to confront his brother. "Donnie...I know you're upset about what she did to April but-"

"Darn right I'm upset! April didn't do anything wrong but now she's caught up in this and she's stuck down in the sewers when she should be out living her life. Meanwhile-" He jabbed a finger in Karai's direction. "-s_he's _a **wanted criminal **and she gets to do whatever she wants!"

"You don't think she deserves a second chance?" Leo pressed, his own temper growing.

The atmosphere in the room became very heavy very fast as the two launched into a full scale argument.

Karai felt ridiculously weak letting Leo fight this battle for her, but she knew that if she tried to defend herself now it would just enrage the mutant more. So for now she let Leo handle it. Besides, what could she say? All his accusations were true. But what he said about the redhead being cooped up made Karai think, and she pondered on it quietly to herself while they duked it out for another minute.

When she did get up she felt Mikey's hand on hers, pulling her back away from the argument, but she shot him a confident sort of smirk and he let go.

Karai stepped between the two boys gracefully, her hands raised to show she didn't want a fight.

"If you two are done, I've got a proposition for you." She looked directly at Donnie as she spoke, her amber eyes holding nothing back.

"...What."

"Seems you're mostly mad at me for roughing up your girlfriend. If I make it up to her will you chill out and play nice?"

Before Donnie could rebuttal with insults Leo shot him a sharp look and the genius closed his mouth again. He drew in a deep breath and answered in a strained voice; "Yes."

"Good. Then tomorrow night all of you meet me at 109th and Leadston at midnight, and tell Red to bring a swimsuit."

The boys exchanged confused glances, but Karai refused to elaborate. She simply said they'd have to trust her.

At exactly 12:03 the turtles and April left the sewer at Leadston. Leo went out first, sticking to the shadows as he peered around corners to make sure the coast was clear. He whistled to let the others know it was safe and they came out one by one with Donnie bringing up the rear behind April. The neighborhood was dark and quiet, much more open than they were used to. Most of the buildings were closed businesses and streetlights raised far and few between lined the sidewalk. April moved in closer to Donnie, her hand itching over her own weapon. This was not the kind of place she'd want to find herself alone.

"Glad you could make it."

Karai's voice made them all jump but they were quick to compose themselves again. She sat atop a brick wall looking very much like a leisurely cat as her legs swung over the side.

"Com'mon." She beckoned, sliding over to the other side.

Donnie and Raph exchanged nervous glances, but when Mikey and Leo jumped over the wall and called for them to follow they did. Raph went over first as Donnie bent down so April could climb onto his back. "Hold on tight."

April nodded as her arms came around her friend's neck and she tried not to choke him. Jumping over the wall felt like flying, but she couldn't enjoy it because of the tension in her belly. Even though she knew how important Karai had become to Leo, April couldn't shake her apprehension about the evening. So when she opened her eyes and recognized the YMCA she did a double take.

"We're sneaking into a pool?"

Karai had already shimmied up the side of the wall to crack open one of the lower windows. "Why did you think I told you to bring a swimsuit?"

April felt Donnie's hand on hers again and she squeezed it to let him know she appreciated his concern.

"Isn't this...illegal?" Leo asked with a slight wince.

"Of course not. It's a public pool, and we are the public." Karai answered as she pushed the window open and slipped inside.

The boys stared at the opening, thinking there was no way they would fit through it when the back door opened and Karai stuck her head out.

"I come here almost every night. It's no big deal."

Although the five heroes were reluctant to enter the building, when they saw the olympic sized pool and piles of equipment and toys their enthusiasm grew quickly.

"Woah! A real pool! With real floaties!" Mikey exclaimed as he approached the water, dipping his toes in curiously. "Oooh, warm."

Karai stripped off her cloths and weapons and dove in first as a sign of good faith.

Leo was the first to drop his gear and join her, with Mikey following close behind as soon as he chose an armload of inflated toys to take with him.

Raph looked back at Donnie with a, 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' sort of shrug. He removed the arsenal that hung from his body and dove into the deep end.

Donnie glanced nervously at April, but the excited look on her face was like a precious gift. Clearly pleased by the opportunity to swim and play around like a normal teen, April hurried to tear off her shirt and shorts, revealing a bright yellow bikini that made Donnie blush so hard that he was grateful her attention was focused on the water.

She dove in like a pro and swum out to Mikey's island of floaties.

With a sigh of defeat Donnie admitted to himself that Karai's plan had worked, and he begrudgingly joined the others.

Over the next half hour April taught the boys several pool games, and although Karai sat out for a lot of them she had plenty of fun watching. Eventually she got the idea into her head to have a race, so she swam out to Raph, knowing that he'd be the easiest to taunt into joining her.

"So how fast can you guys swim anyway?"

Just as she suspected Raph took the bait. "Fast enough."

"Probably not faster than me."

Raph's mouth drew into a slow half smile. "Oh? Bring it on sister."

"Technically we're mutated from a species of land dwelling turtles, so our speed shouldn't be much greater than...say-" "Can it Donnie." Raph dunked his science minded brother to stop the babble and he and Karai got out to walk to the section of the pool divided into lanes.

"First one to the other side wins, single lap." Karai proposed as she stretched her legs and bent into take-off position.

Mikey, who designated himself referee, waited anxiously for the huge clock timer on the wall to hit zero. "On your marks...ready the weapons...FIRE!"

Nobody cared to correct him as the two bodies dove into the water, they just held their breath and watched.

Karai broke the water first, starting out strong with the advantage of her agility and size. Raph's bulky shape had slowed his initial dive but when he broke water his arms and legs pushed through the water like a propeller.

She took half a second to glance at her opponent, and seeing that they were neck and neck Karai burst into full speed. Overtaking him by almost half a minute at the finish line.

To her surprise she heard cheering when the water cleared from her ears, and she looked up to see Leo waiting at the end for her, his left hand extended towards her.

"High threes!" Mikey called, quickly correcting himself a second later, "Er...high...eights?"

Finally getting the idea Karai smacked Leo's hand and smiled proudly when Raph raised his hand to give the same.

"You probably would have won if it weren't for that thick shell." She offered as their hands collided, but the bulky turtled waved it off.

"Nope. You're faster, fair and square."

Mikey yelled, "I call next race!" and so a few more rounds of competition ensued.

Karai was still undefeated when April volunteered to race her ten minutes later. Feeling impressed by the girl's courage and a bit humbled that she'd gotten over her fear so quickly, Karai took it a bit easy on the redhead. Without making it look like a complete cop out she even let April win.

The girls hung on the lane dividers catching their breath. April glanced up to see Donnie watching them, but when their eyes connect he quickly looked away to fain interest in something Leo and Mikey were doing. Karai couldn't help but notice the exchange.

"He's really protective of you."

April smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. It can be a pain sometimes...but it's also nice to have someone looking out for me." She paused just for a moment to put together what she wanted to say next. "Leo's the same way with you ya know. He just tries not to show it so you'll think he's cool."

Karai let go of the pool lane and treaded water. "Yeah. I know."

April watched Karai float aimlessly in the cool water, noting how much effort she put into not looking too interested in what was going on around her, and marveled that just earlier that night she'd considered her an enemy. What she was now was unclear, but April did know she wasn't a threat.

"You've changed a lot."

Karai's face twisted in disappointment. "It's that obvious?"

To her surprise April laughed, and it was a delightful little sound that almost made her jealous. Karai had never liked her own laugh.

"Well, the first time I met you I couldn't read you at all. You were just this ball of anger, but now...There's a lot of layers to you."

Karai nodded, finally making eye contact. "I should actually be thanking you. If you hadn't bested me that day I wouldn't be here right now." She looked over at Leo playing with his brothers and felt her mood instantly lighten. What would she be doing at this exact moment if the circumstances had changed? Stealing something? Training with Shredder? Maybe even fighting Leo and the others.

April swam a bit closer. "Leo didn't tell us why you guys became friends again."

"It's a pretty long story." She started before her lips formed a frown. "Actually. No, it's not. My dad was ashamed that I lost to you. So he challenged me to a duel, and when I lost he threw me out to fight my way back home. No weapons..no armor. Already pretty beat to shit. Then Leo found me and we...argued...but in the end he won. He took care of me. Nobody had ever cared about me that way before."

When she finished Karai was amazed how much she'd shared with someone who was basically a stranger.

Sensing her shock, April smiled reassuringly. "Sounds like you found something really important."

Karai nodded, but before the girls could continue their conversation Mikey's voice echoed across the pool. "April! What's a sauna?!"

"Hold on, I'll show you!" She answered as she hoisted herself up out of the water, sending one last friendly smile in Karai's direction before she left.

Karai smiled back, just a tiny one, but felt a distinct sense of pride in herself non the less. She'd just had a normal conversation with another girl and it didn't end in blood and tears.

Everyone but Leo was following April into the next room, so she swam over to him.

"Hey, how come you're not going to check out the steam box?"

Leo was sitting on the steps at the shallow end, one hand on his healing shoulder. "Wound's acting up." he mumbled, wincing as a string of pain shot down his arm.

Karai noticed the tension in his body and pulled him out into the deep end.

"Just relax."

Leo floated effortlessly because of his shell in a sitting position with his head just above water, and found that Karai was right. When he relaxed all his muscles the pain lessened.

"Nice trick." He sighed happily.

"Yeah."

Karai watched him float for a bit before her mind wandered to the shower a few days earlier. She thought about how good it felt to be in his arms and how all her worries had slipped away there. And with their battle against the Krang only a day away she had quite a lot to be worried about. At first she thought it would be too awkward, but as the feeling of need built up in her chest Karai eventually gave in and slipped into Leo's lap with her head just under his jaw. She felt him smirk as a hand came around her waist to keep her from floating away and his other drifted out to push against the water so that they spun in a slow, hypnotic circle.

As Karai's mind went blank she held on to the intimate sensation, relieved to find that the effect was just strong as she remembered, and savored it.

They floated like that for a minute that felt like an hour, until a cool breeze blew in from outside, prompting Karai to draw in closer, and her lips to brush accidentally against his neck. Leo shivered and she smiled against his skin. Karai was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn't feel any different from a human's, so on a whim she pulled back—taking just a second to enjoy his flustered expression—and planted a soft, quick kiss on his lips.


	6. The Fall

...and planted a soft, quick kiss on his lips. How interesting that his mouth felt so normal despite being much bigger than a real boy's, she thought.

To her immense amusement Leo turned a shade of red she'd never seen before and froze.

_His first kiss...He'd just lost his first kiss to a prank..._

His insides twisted painfully as he felt happy and hurt all at once. That kiss was what he'd wanted since the first night he'd met her, but not like this. This was just...wrong. She must have seen it in his face because her smirk washed away and was quickly replaced by concerned confusion.

She really didn't understand...he anguished, feeling his heart sink and tighten deep in his chest. How could she? It was probably just a simple gesture to her but, to Leo...it was his first-no, hell, probably his **only**. Something foreign boiled inside him as he struggled to figure out how to express that to her, until finally he snapped. Grabbing her shoulders, Leo dragged her to him, kissing her with all the pent up desperation and need that her kiss tormented him with. He expected her to slap him but instead her fists bunched in the folds of his mask to hold him there. Being taken so forcefully bubbled a funny feeling in her belly that thrilled her and she didn't want it to stop.

Eventually his grip on her shifted with the kiss as it started revolving more around his needs than his anger. One huge hand cupped the small of her back and the other tangled in her hair, which was just as strange and wonderful as he thought it would be.

If his brain hadn't gone completely fuzzy he would have been worried about the fact that he had no idea what he was doing. So far reacting purely on instinct seemed to be working just fine, but luckily Karai was quick to take the reins from him.

One of her hands dragged down to his arm, taking her sweet time admiring the muscles there while the other pulled at his mask tassels to change the angle of his head. A strangled noise hummed in his throat when she did that and it pleased her so much she smiled wickedly against his mouth.

Just then her ears picked up the sound of hot air rushing out of the sauna and she pulled them both underwater to break the kiss there. Eyes met for a fleeting second before they both surfaced to catch their breath.

"Told you I could hold it longer." She exclaimed loud enough for the others to hear, and knew her plan worked when Mikey explained that he wanted to go next.

When the group exhausted all their energy they parted ways on a friendly note that was very much a triumph. But only Leo noticed the look in Karai's eyes when she waved goodbye with a single cool, nonchalant gesture of her hand. His mouth went dry and when she headed off her own way it took great self control not to follow.

That night all he could think about was Karai, about the way she tasted and smelled and how thrilling it felt when she touched him. He replayed it as many times as he could before the memory started to fade and jumble, and when his thoughts found their way to indecent territory he stuffed his face into his pillow and tried to smother them out.

For the moment, he just wanted to enjoy what he had.

The next night the group rendezvous at an abandoned building a few blocks from the Krang outpost Karai selected for attack. Of all the buildings she knew of this was the least guarded, so naturally it was also the lowest risk.

Donnie handed out wireless head pieces so they could all stay in contact and they reviewed the plan one final time for good measure.

"The control room is on the top floor, so while the three of you draw the Krang out-"

"I'm in charge of distractions!" Mikey interrupted gleefully.

"...Yes. Michelangelo is in charge on your end. Nobody knows how to piss off Krang faster than him."

"And nobody's better at running away from the Krang." Raph taunted, earning him a slap on his arm from April.

Karai slipped into her new armor as she listened, pleased by how well the light metal fit and suited her tastes. The new sword she'd...bought...hung from her back, and she'd already tried it out on the Purple Dragons so she knew the quality wouldn't disappoint. Yes, they had everything they needed. It was just a matter of pulling it off now. As she finished her adjustments she couldn't help but smile at how calm they all seemed, joking around and laughing. This was just another day for them.

When they finally departed April stayed in the building, wirelessly controlling the RC cars Donnie had fixed with speakers. Donnie, Mikey, and Raph split off to cover the entrance, while Leo and Karai climbed to the roof. At only five stories high the climb was nothing, so when they got to the top they even had time to spare to stake out the room.

One huge, round control tower stood in the middle of the room and more consoles sat against the walls. Six Krang total worked at the stations, with two more guarding the door.

Karai could taste victory on the tongue. Peace of cake.

They heard the other three started the distraction and half the Krang droids got up in a confused manner to abandoned the computer room. Karai propped open the skylight, hooked herself into the propel rope and started to slide through the opening, all without making a sound.

That's when Leo drew her back to him, kissed her quick and needy before letting go.

She smirked, enjoying his bashful expression. "What was that for?"

"Incase the first one was a fluke."

Karai didn't answer, but her smile softened and as she made her decent her eyes stayed on Leo as long as possible. Only breaking contact to dispatch the remaining Krang.

Unable to join her in the room, Leo sank into his role as the eyes on the skies, keeping both Karai and his brothers in his sights.

Karai worked quickly, plugging into the mainframe with ease using the techniques Donnie taught her, and started the copy. The countdown bar couldn't have moved any slower if it were made of molasses instead of pixels, but eventually it hit 100% and Karai loaded the virus.

By this time the Krang had started to outnumber the other boys, so Leo called down to Karai to hurry.

"It's going as fast as it can!" She hissed, and as soon as it was done she yanked it from the port and climbed the rope while Leo pulled her up.

He hit the communication button on his headset and ordered the retreat as he and Karai descended from the building. The thrill of falling with the safe ropes was almost ruined by the anxiety Leo felt. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until they were all safe back at the Lair.

They met April back at the abandoned building where she and Donnie had just finished packing up. Karai handed the hard drive off and felt the weight lifted from her shoulders. It was over.

"When will we know if the virus worked?" Leo pressed.

Before Donnie could answer they heard the sound of Krang ships buzzing overhead and everyone froze.

"RUN!" Raph barked as laser beams shot in through the windows.

Everyone got out through the back door, running full speed towards the nearest sewer entrance. Yet no matter how many corners they turned or how many tricks they used the ships were always at their tails.

"How are they following us?" Mikey yelled over the sound of the lasers.

"Plugging into their tec must have put a tracer on the drive!" It was a long shot, but that was the only explanation Donnie could come up with on the spot.

"Then throw it away!" April heaved, feeling the beginnings of exhaustion.

"We can't waste that information." The leader protested as they ducked into what they thought was an alley but was actually a completely open abandoned lot. And to their absolute horror they saw not only a hoard of Krang droids waiting for them but a handful of Foot members as well.

Trapped, the group formed a circle around April and took fighting stances.

"Don't fight to win." Leo ordered. "Just make a path and get out."

The Foot soldiers attacked first, with the Krang firing their guns at anyone who tried to break formation.

The group's only advantage was that the Foot were no match for them, even April had bested two or three, but the real threat was the Krang's technology. The two ships still hovered above them, and Leo tried to figure out what they were waiting for. Why not take them all out now?

Suddenly all the Krang's screens flickered, the ships started to loose altitude, and Donnie knew it was the virus finally kicking in system wide.

"Run for it!" He yelled, urging the others towards the dark alley just half a block away.

They all made a mad dash for the alley, so grateful for the opening they didn't notice a second barrage of Foot soldiers leap down from the rooftops above. Only Karai heard the scraping of their swords unsheathe, a sound her ears had become attuned too over so many years of training, and she looked back just in time to see the squad leader leap at April. Without thinking, without time to block, Karai stepped in front of April and the upward swing of the sword caught her armor, tearing it off to slice all the way up the entire length of her back.

She screamed and nearly fell to her knees from the pain of it, but willed herself to keep running. Leo's heart nearly stopped when her heard her cry out and he turned on the spot with every intention of running to get her, but that's when his worst fear was realized.

Out of the crowd of Foot soldiers came the dread inducing clank of Shredder's armor, and the enormous man was on Karai before Leo could do a single thing.

"Karai!"

He watched the man sweep Karai's feet out from under her, watched her reach for a sword that Shredder tore from her and tossed away. He felt his brothers pulling at him, felt his own desperate struggle against their hands, but he their voices faded out and he couldn't hear anything, couldn't smell, or feel anything else and all he saw was Karai being carried away. Her hands lashed aimlessly at the man that held her like nothing more than a rag doll. When their eyes met he saw the pain and fear behind them and snapped.

The next thing he knew he was in a dark tunnel and everyone else was catching their breath. He heard April's muffled, angry sobs as she cried into Donnie's chest and felt the numbness wearing off gradually.

His swords were still in his hands, but nobody would tell him why they glistened red in the faint moonlight. He didn't remember going berserk, he didn't remember almost killing several Foot before Mikey wrapped him in chains and pulled him back into retreat. He could only picture Karai's face looking back at him, needed him to save her. The image of that was burned in his brain.

The metal weapons clanked heavily onto the ground and his fist pounded into the wall. He'd failed. The information on that hard drive didn't mean one damn thing if this was the price. Leo felt anger like he'd never experienced before boiling in his veins. He wanted to blame everyone for not trusting Karai, for putting her in danger in the first place. He wanted to blame April for being so useless and his brothers for not taking the rear like they were supposed to. But that was all petty and pointless because most of all he blamed himself. When Karai finally needed him he could only watch as she was ripped out of his life. Maybe forever.

For what felt like a very long time no one spoke, until Raph broke the silence.

"We can track her position with that headgear, right?"

Every member of the Foot stood in a half circle behind Shredder as he lifted Karai over the opening of an old well in the basement of their headquarters. Despite that crowd the room was absolutely silent save for the sounds of Karai struggling.

Shredder held Karai up by the scruff of her shirt, his cold, deformed eyes staring right into her soul.

"Of all the warriors I have trained, betrayal was not something I expected of you Karai."

"I'm not your warrior, I'm your daughter!" She chocked, her voice full of anger and pain. "You were supposed to love me but all you've ever done is treat me like a weapon!"

"Love is nothing but a tool to get what you want, I taught you strength. In the end only your own will can save your life, affection and attachments merely hinder your potential."

He shook her and Karai winced as the movement agitated the slash on her back.

"Take your current state for example. All you had to do was look out for your own skin but instead you chose to protect that girl. Was it worth it?"

"Yes." Her answer rang bold and true, and when Shredder saw that she didn't doubt it for a second he let out a disgusted, disappointed hiss.

His other hand reached towards her face and even though Karai lashed at him with her teeth, Shredder pulled off her headgear, tossing it behind him to Baxter Stockman.

With just one look the man understood it's function. "This has a homing device. They turtles know your location now."

Shredder's features twisted as he smiled low and horrible, and he pulled Karai closer to his face. "Luckily for you this mishap has not been completely without profit." Then let her fall, down into the deep pit where several hands caught her. She tried desperately not to scream but those same hands started to tear at her cloths, she felt a cloth come over her mouth to silence her protests and when she breathed in the room became fuzzy and distant.

"A few days in this hell will relearn you the respect and loyalty I deserve."

Karai struggled as long as she possible could but the drugs inevitably took hold, and her world faded away.

When she came to Karai could barely move, and for a moment she thought been blindfolded before she remembered where she was.

It was perfectly pitch black inside the well when the trap door was closed. The only sound was that of her own heartbeat and uneasy breathing, the air was cold and her fingers were numb.

She knew this place, or rather knew of it. There was a well just like it in their home in Japan, and throwing his enemies into it to torture them for weeks and months was Shredder's favorite technique for breaking people's wills. She'd seen it happen, she'd helped do it, and now here she was. At the bottom.

Rubbing her hands over hear arms she realized that someone had put her back in her old cloths and wrapped up her wounds. Right. She thought bitterly. Couldn't have me dying before you had your fun...

Karai reached sideways until she felt the walls, ran her hands over the uneven bumps and tried to assess how easily she could climb up.

With the uneven stones and their rough surfaces it just barely seemed plausible.

No, the real trick would be mustering the strength to climb, and timing it perfectly so that when she did get to the top someone would be there to open the hatch.

At the moment she could hardly lift her head.

Some small part of Karai just wanted to give up. To lie there until Leo came to rescue her or Shredder offered her freedom, and as the hours ticked on into the night and the pain became so bad that she couldn't sleep that voice grew louder and louder. She lay there in agony, groping blindly at an ever slipping grasp of herself and trying to keep the bitter thoughts at bay. But fighting it was becoming exhausting, and for the first time Karai thought how nice it would be to stop. After all, she'd been fighting her entire life. Good people, bad people, gangs, governments, she'd done horrible things for as long as she could remember. Maybe that's just who she was supposed to be. Maybe these past few weeks were nothing but a brief interlude in her story, her one and only glance at normalcy. Should she really risk her life trying to climb out of this hell hole when all she had to do was tell her father she was sorry?

She tried to cling to the memory of Leo telling Raph that she deserved a second chance but did she really?

Shouldn't he have come by now? Or has he realized how little he actually means to you? The voice whispered, and the more Karai tried to drown out the doubts the louder it became, until every single horrible thing she'd ever done to Leo started playing on loop. She'd hurt him, tormented him, even lead him on with that stupid kiss despite knowing how much stronger his feelings were. She'd never even said his name.

The more Karai thought about it the more and more convinced she became that Leo would be glad to be rid of her.

Maybe, when her father opened the door she would say, "Get me out." Yes, maybe that was for the best. That's when the worst realization of all came to jab icy doubt in her heart. Even if Leo still wanted to be her friend, even if he and the others managed to get past Shredder, none of them would have any idea where she was. They would probably run right past the trap door and never know she was down here. At first she thought she was going to throw up but when that feeling passed Karai just feel numb, and because numb was better than the hurt she let herself sink into the nothingness.

So hours later when the trap door opened and light flooded in but didn't reach her, when she saw just how far she had to climb, Karai barely responded at all.

She heard those heavy, metallic footsteps coming long before she saw him or heard his voice, and tried to muster the will to speak. Get me out of here, she would say.

But when she heard his booming voice echo down through the well saying, "How is the power of friendship holding up for you? Do you still cling to the hope of being rescued? Or are you ready to rejoin my ranks again? Starting from the bottom, of course." She heard the pleasure, the pleasure he gained from her despair and the malice for her very existence in his voice and suddenly Karai's ears flooded with memories of Leo instead.

_If Shredder cared about you at all he never would have never hurt you like this _

She remembered his hands gently holding hers as he wrapped them in bandages, the way he'd nearly burned down the apartment that first morning, the way he bravely ate her omelet even though she knew it tasted horrible.

_I don't want to be your enemy, I want to be your friend._

She remembered his warm blue eyes and the way he could be insanely brave or delightfully bashful.

_You're way more important to me than revenge._

And suddenly it was as if he was there with her, pushing her to sit up and giving her the energy to scream at the top of her dry, raspy voice; "I will **never** go back to you, you disgusting coward!"

Clearly displeased, Shredder's voice changed dramatically. Gone was the mocking tone, replaced instead by a cold, harsh sound that sent a chill down her spine as he hissed; "Perhaps you will feel differently after spending a few weeks lying among the corpses of your new allies."

A bowl of plain white rice tumbled down the hole, spilling onto the floor as the bowl broke on impact. Then the door slammed shut, and Karai was back in the pitch black silence. But instead of curling into a ball, instead of crying frustrated tears, she lay back in the dirt and started counting the minutes. Etching out each one with a mark in the sand, and waiting.

Everyone gathered in Donnie's lab, gearing up and going over the plan. The goal was to do their best to sneak in without triggering any alarms or sentients, find Karai, and get out. Although, even though no one spoke about it, the task seemed daunting.

Unsurprisingly, Karai's headgear was still active, and its current location was that of a seemingly abandoned warehouse in the industrial district by the docks. April downloaded the building plants, and together she and Donnie figured the most likely locations where Karai might be.

"Raph and I will go in first, stake the place out from a distance, and find the blind spots in their guard and figure out the best point of entry." Leo explained as they all leaned over the map they'd printed of the area. "Then we'll all meet back here at the sewer exit."

Everyone else exchanged worried glances.

Finally April spoke up. "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to go? We all want to help get Karai back but...what if you loose it again and charge in without thinking?"

Leo's hands balled into fists. "I won't. I...I can't risk failing her again. No matter what happens, I'll keep my cool."

Raph stepped in. "How do you know that? You almost killed those Foot soldiers. They're probably expecting us to try and rescue her. What if they've got her strung out on display or something? Could you keep your cool then?"

The image Raph described flashed through Leo's mind and his eyes hit the floor so they all wouldn't see the rage behind them. "Of course."

Mikey timidly stated; "I dunno dude...maybe you better let Donnie handle this one."

"No! We are sticking to the plan and that's the end of it."

Leo grabbed his bag of gear and almost stormed out of the room, but collided instead with the furry chest of his father.

Splinter offered him a quizzical, patient glance before addressing his son. "Perhaps it is time the five of you told me what it is you have been hiding these past few weeks."

For a good long minute no one spoke, no one knew quite what to say.

Leo looked strait into his father's eyes and struggled for the right words. If he lied, Splinter would know. If he told half the truth Splinter would know. He had no choice...but he wasn't ready to tell his father everything. What if he didn't understand? What if he forbade them from saving Karai?

Somehow the old rat recognized Leonardo's inner turmoil and placed a long, thin hand on his son's shoulder. The warmth Leo saw on his father's face calmed him, and he made his decision. Drawing in a long breath, Leo calmed his mind, and started to explain.


	7. Karai's Redemption

"58...59...60. Six o'clock..."

Karai's stomach clenched and rumbled with hunger and she knew her count couldn't have been very far off. If she was right it had almost ten hours since the last time she'd been brought a meal. Which, if her captures were sticking to the usual schedule, put her escape window at exactly one hour starting now. Half an hour to climb to the top, half an hour to fumble at the beginning.

She rolled over onto her stomach, lifting herself to her elbows first before pushing up the rest of the way. She felt lightheaded and weak but she'd pushed herself through worse before. Even so, the kunoichi took a moment to regain her composure and let the wave of pain and nausea pass. There was no time for mistakes or her usual impatience, and as hard as it would be Karai knew she would have to take it slow.

Gingerly, she started feeling the stones on the wall, gauging the distance between each one, and finding her grip.

Because it was such an old structure the footing actually wasn't that bad. Many of the rocks jutted out to provide support and discovering that fact improved her chances and her mood. Using the wall like a crutch Karai forced herself onto her feet, stood there for a moment as she drew in a meditative breath, then began to climb.

On the first try she got a few feet up before slipping on a bad holding and falling back down. The second try she'd climbed ten feet when the rock she was holding onto broke away and she went tumbling with it.

'Pull it together.' She ordered herself, even though her butt and feet ached from the falls and her hands and knees already stung with scrapes. 'This is what you planned for, learn from the mistakes, don't get discouraged, don't hurry.'

So when she tried a third time she was more patient. She felt the rocks more carefully, wiggled them to test their durability before entrusting her life to them, and that's when Karai really started to climb.

Karai kept going higher and higher, and each new stone was a gamble and a blessing as it meant she was one stone closer to the top, but she was also horrifically aware that if she lost her grip now the fall would probably break her back.

She got so far up that the temperature changed, and she knew she was almost there. 'Don't you fucking stop now...' She begged her body when her arms burned and her hands and back cried out in pain.

Instead of Leo's voice in her head Karai now chanted to the sound of her own, pushing herself harder and harder, not letting herself give up. Leo was just the motivation to get to the top but she would get there using her own strength. Before this it had always been her father's voice that pushed her forward, but not anymore. Never again. When she got out of here she would be her own person. She would decide her own fate.

The sound of footsteps and faint voices above her made Karai's heart thudded wildly in her chest. She was almost there!

Karai forced herself to keep calm, to keep moving slowly and steadily. Knowing the end was near, her body felt lighter, the burning in her arms and hands barely registered anymore and all she let herself think about was the next stone.

Finally her hand hit wood, the solid wood of the door and just in case it wasn't locked she pushed against it, but nothing happened.

Karai took a deep, focusing breath and held on. It wouldn't be long before someone came to open the door. She just had to stay calm and keep her grip.

Just then, the sound of footsteps overhead pricked her ears and without a second's hesitation she screamed, "LET ME OUT!"

Exactly as she'd hoped the footsteps paused and start walking back towards the hole. She heard the sound of confused mumbling as the lock clicked on the trap door and prepared to fly. The door opened with blinded light but Karai jumped through the opening into a summersault. The kunoichi flipped out of the roll just before she hit the opposite wall, knocked the soldier's feet out from under him then pinned him by the neck as she caught her breath and adjusted to the light.

"Thanks for the help."

She unsheathed his katana and took it for herself before knocking him out with the handle, then dragged his body into the shadows. She replaced the trap door and locked it before running towards her old room. If it took them another hour to find out she'd already escaped it would mean more time for her to get away.

Karai darted silently from shadow to shadow. All she needed was her sword and amor, maybe some of her favorite books or cloths, then she could leave this place behind and never look back.

But when she stepped inside the familiar space all Karai could think was how foreign it seemed now. The kunoichi went slowly around the room looking at the meager amount of things she'd collected there. She ran her hand over the books, the futon, her old makeup, and felt nothing. No sentiment, no attachment, nothing.

She didn't even need to open the closet. There was no point in taking any cloths, there was no point in taking any of it.

A few minutes later Karai ahd just fasted the last piece of armor on when a noise at the door made her draw her weapon, and when she turned she saw her Lieutenant standing with his own sword drawn.

"It's rather impressive that you climbed out from that well...it's just a shame the effort was pointless." He snarled in Japanese.

"I'd disagree." She challenged, waiting for him to take the first swing.

Playing right into her plan the man darted forward. Their swords clashed violently with the sounds of two masked masters sparing to the death. Karai knew she had the disadvantage being wounded, but she knew this boy, barely any older than her, and that was his disadvantage. If she could get him talking he'd make a mistake and she would win. Just as she'd done a thousand times in the dojo.

"You'll escape here and then what? Join the Turtles? They'll all be dead soon."

He saw the shock in her eyes and took the offensive but Karai dodged just in time.

"You're lying." She hissed.

"They came for you a half hour ago. Not using a very well thought out strategy I might add. If you hurry now you might be able to say your final goodbyes before Shredder turns them into soup."

Karai wanted to scream but she knew the noise would draw attention, instead she poured that rage into her sword.

In one swift movement she disarmed the Lieutenant and had him sprawling on the floor with the tip of her katana at his neck.

She saw the cowardice in his eyes and couldn't bring herself to finish him, though she tried to keep the killing intent at the surface so he would stay terrified. "Do you really want a lie to be your last act in this universe?"

The boy gulped as he felt the sting of her sword on his skin. "I-I wasn't lying! They did attack, they're fighting in the courtyard right now...But they're not going to win! Shredder hasn't even sent out the second half of the Clan yet and they're already out of their depth. He sent me to bring you...so you could watch..."

"How kind of him." She spat.

With the boy's usefulness at its end Karai knocked him out with the blunt of her sword, then took his blade and ran for courtyard with both weapons drawn behind her. Blood from the wound on her back dripped onto the floor as she ran, leaving a red trail behind her but she didn't notice. All she could think about was Leo and his brothers. For a moment she couldn't believe they'd really come to save her, but the more she thought about their personalities the more easy it became to see that there would be no other choice for them. They'd risked their lives to save her.

Now it was her turn to save them.

She saw the huge hanger doors at the end of the hallway and prepared herself. A black mass stood in her way but Karai didn't even try to count. Silent feet carried her swiftly into the room and she raised her swords to cut as she ran, slicing down as many as she could while they didn't know what hit them.

Faster, she had to swing her sword faster, she had to move faster. She felt the sting of a blade on her cheek, her arm, one caught her in the side but Karai didn't stop. The woman became a whirlwind of blood, steel, and fury and she never stopped moving her swords.

Leonardo's chest heaved with the effort of fighting, but it gave him courage to see that his opponents looked equally spent.

Raph was right, the Foot had been waiting for them, but he, his brothers, and their father managed to remain in the high ground all this time, and the way was almost clear. He disabled the last of the Foot clan, only Shredder, Baxter—now useless with the last of his mousers destroyed—Dogpound, and Xever remained.

Splinter turned for a half second and his eyes met Leo's, and the blue leader knew his father was giving him the signal to go find Karai.

They could handle it.

But as he started to run Shredder yelled for the second wave and the huge warehouse gates behind him slowly creaked open. Leonardo froze mid-step. Second wave?

All five mutants watched the gates rise with looks of absolute horror on their faces.

Leo sank to his knees. They couldn't keep fighting, not a whole other army. They would have to retreat...Would they even be able to? Was this the end? Had he failed again?

But when the gates opened they saw a single silhouette holding two swords, eyes wide and furious, blood dripping profusely from her body that was a mixture of her own and her enemies'.

Confused by his prey's expressions Shredder turned and his sinister eyes went wide. "You..."

"Get...away..." Karai took a shaky step forward, raising her sword to challenge her father one last time.

He just laughed in her face.

"You honestly think you can beat me with that sword you can barely lift?"

"Karai!"

Leo wanted to run to her, but Splinter held out his hand to stop his son. "Michelangelo, now!"

Suddenly the courtyard filled with smoke and each of the five ninjas disappeared.

"NO!" Shredder's anger pushed away his amusement and the man turned to Karai with killing intent.

"You've cost me my revenge!"

Before he could strike a sixth cloud enveloped Karai and she felt strong arms grab her, she breathed in the familiar scent and knew immediately who had her. The woman dropped her swords as the blur flew with her into the sewers, turning sporadic left and rights to shake anyone following. She pressed her cheek to his as the knots in her belly unwound and squeezed her eyes shut tight. The ache of her body started to slip away and the last thing she felt was Leo's arms holding her tight before it all faded t o black.

The next thing Karai felt was damp concrete at her back and anxious hands pressing against her side. She felt cold and dizzy, but as the fog of her vision cleared she could just barely make out the angular face of her friend. His face was twisted in concern and panic, his mouth was moving but she couldn't really hear what he was saying.

"Leo?"

She watched his chest hitch as he turned to her with relief in his eyes despite the fact that he still looked like he could burst into tears any minute.

A big, bulky hand pressed against her forehead, wiping away some of the sweat from her pale, clammy skin and Karai wished it were warmer. "Everybody else will be here soon...just hold on a bit longer."

What did he mean? She wasn't going anywhere...

"Leo?"

"Yes?"

"Is your dad a rat?"

Leonardo started to smile but it quickly twisted into tears that poured down his cheeks and he bitterly wished he wasn't so weak.

"Sorry..." His head fell, trying to hide his shame but the tears kept flowing. She saw his lip twist up in a sad, resigned smile. "In the end you didn't even need me at all. I didn't do a single thing. I'm so useless when it comes to you..."

Karai had never seen a man cry before, and it really threw her for a loop.

She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and hold him close, or hit him so he'd know nothing had changed, but her arms didn't want to move so easily. Fighting like hell she brought her hand up to his face and made him look directly into her eyes. He looked so blurry...she could barely make out his features but she saw all the pain in his blue depths.

"You're not useless." The quietness of her voice terrified him but he listened. "You did save my life."

He clutched her other hand tightly, was her voice getting weaker?

"You set me free..."

Her eyes closed, and the hand on his face fell limply at her side.

"Karai?" Leonardo's voice shook and he picked up her hand and squeezed it tight, praying she'd just passed out again. He checked her pulse but couldn't feel anything through his rough scaly fingers. His hands were shaking as he dialed his brothers over and over, cursing them for not getting to the rendezvous point sooner. Leo had never felt more scared, alone, or useless as he sat there in the growing puddle of Karai's blood. The echoed dripping of water surrounded him, drowning out of the sounds of his frustrated tears.

The world was still black save for the sound of florescent lights flickering overhead. Karai pried her eyes open slowly, adjusting to the sensations of life as if they were foreign concepts.

The room was a dim green and blue, and as more feeling came back she immediately regretted wanting them. Every inch of her body hurt or ached or stung and she felt like she'd been hit by a train.

Karai turned her head on the soft pillow to get a better look at the space when she saw Leonardo sitting against the wall, his arms folded over his chest and his head dropping.

He looked so tired, there were bags under his eyes and his cheeks seemed more hallow. Karai began to wonder how long she'd been out, but as she lifted her arm to try and reach out for him she felt the pinch of needles and looked up to see the IV's hanging above her head. That long...

Part of her didn't want to wake the boy but another part of her wanted drag him out of his sleep and pound him with questions. It felt like ages since they'd talked normally, just the two of them in the apartment watching TV and telling bad jokes.

Luckily she didn't have to choose because at that moment Michelangelo walked in and the way his face lit up made her smile deeply.

The goofball jumped around for a bit on his tiptoes, trying to decide if he should hug her or not before realizing it wouldn't be right if Leo wasn't the first one to do it, so he threw whatever he was carrying—now long forgotten—at his brother's head and ran right back out of the room.

"Huh? What?!" Leo shook his head and yawned violently before becoming coherent enough to realize that Karai was awake.

She smirked at him and his eyes went wide, then she saw all the worry and weight lift off his shoulders and he scooted closer.

"You haven't been crying again have you?" She asked with a cracked voice that turned into a cough.

Leo just shook his head and smiled, but the more she looked at him the more worn down he seemed, as though he'd just been dragged through hell. And he looked so unsure, like he didn't know what to do, where to put his hands or what to say.

Karai patted Leo's knee comfortingly and that seemed to help relax him.

He told her about how they'd robbed an ambulance to get the plasmas and supplies she needed-earning an approving glance from Karai that made him uncomfortable and proud at the same time-how she'd been out for three days and everyone, even Donnie, had been so sullen the whole time.

Although he didn't say it she guessed that he hadn't left her side once. She looked up at the boy and wondered what it was about him that made him so dedicated? What did he like about her so much that he was willing to risk life and limb and suffer through sleepless nights?

But as she watched him talk, not really listening to his words anymore Karai realized she didn't care why. He wanted her, and that should be reason enough.

She stretched out her arms like a child and Leo knew instantly what she wanted, felt the thrill of it through his chest since it was what he'd wanted all along. Gently scooping her into his arms, blankets and all, Leo drew Karai into his lap. He felt her small arms wrap around his shoulders and heard her sigh.

They sat that way for a long time before anyone spoke up, but Karai wasn't surprised it was Leo who did it first. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again. I haven't stopped thinking that since you got taken and when you didn't wake up I...I'd never been more scared in my life."

He felt her grip tighten and he thought that would be it but to his absolute surprise she answered, "I thought Shredder might have killed you...I was so angry and scared I probably made a lot of mistakes while fighting."

She felt him chuckle. "Well, you did take out half your dad's army. Which was both the coolest and most terrifying thing I've ever seen by the way." But he brushed a hand through her hair, which had grown just a bit longer, and pulled away just far enough to press a long, tender kiss onto her forehead that made Karai's heart sing in her chest.

If she could get a kiss like that every day of her life Karai thought she overcome anything.

To finish the kiss he laid her back down on the bed just in time—as he predicted—for Mikey's patience to run out and sure enough his youngest brother's head popped in with a small, bashful smile. "Hi."

Without a moment's hesitation Karai waved him over and Mikey scuttled into place beside Leo to start babbling about what there was to eat. Everything seemed to be pizza flavored, and sounded a bit dicy at first but as he persisted Karai realized how deathly hungry she was.

She told the turtle to surprise her, and when he scampered off again Raph was standing at the doorway, stubbornly refusing to cross the threshold—although his big, mildly concerned green eyes gave him away.

When Leo beckoned him inside Karai noticed a real turtle on his shoulder and he pulled a handful of comic books from behind his back.

"You'll probably be hard up for a while. If Leo gets boring there's these."

Ignoring the sound of Leo' protests that he wasn't boring the Karai reached for the comics and flipped through their covers. Judging from the violent themes and wonderfully detailed fighting scenes she imagined they must have been from his personal stash.

"Thanks."

The three sat a moment talking about nothing in particular when two more figures appeared at the door. Donnie had April by her shoulders, gently supporting and pushing the girl forward but she looked terribly uncomfortable and reluctant. Her hands twisted together and she bit her lip as she looked at Karai.

Neither girls spoke but Karai understood what was wrong She pushed herself up on her elbows and Leo moved the beanbag chair behind her back so she could sit as though in a normal hospital bed.

"It's really not as bad as it looks." Karai claimed with a smirk but April couldn't bring herself to smile.

Raph moved back and April sunk into his place, her hand still folded nervously in her lap.

"It ah, was April's idea to rob the ambulance." Donnie chimed in despite the mortified glance it earned him from April. "Her quick thinking was probably what saved your life."

Karai offered her fist to April. "Now we're even."

April bumped the outstretched hand gently and despite herself felt the tears roll down her cheeks.

Leo patted her back and Donnie reached for her hand—Raph stayed out of it—but she tried to wipe the tears away as quickly as they came.

"I'm sorry. This is stupid I just...I'm so sorry. It was my fault you got caught..."

Karai glanced tentatively at Leo before cautiously placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Surprise had April's eyes shoot up into Karai's as the tears continued to fall.

"That wasn't your fault. There was a million other ways I could have handled that but I didn't." Her voice was stern yet gentle, a tone she was entirely unfamiliar with, but her words seemed to calm April and eventually her tears stopped.

"I'm still impressed you goody-goodys would do that. There might be hope for you guys yet."

By this time Mikey had returned with what genuinely smelled like regular chicken noodle soup. Karai sniffed it suspiciously before taking a sip and the taste made her want to melt right then and there. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had real food.

The six teenagers sat enjoying one another's company, chatting about weapons or TV shows, and the laughter echoed throughout the cavernous subway station.

When Splinter approached the source of the noise his snout drew into a smile at what he overheard.

"What do you mean Leo hasn't told you about Space Heroes yet?"

"Never mentioned it. What is it, American Power Rangers?"

Although Splinters' instincts made him nervous exposing himself to another human being, the rat stepped forward and the room quickly tumbled into silence.

He saw the shock Karai tried to hide and respected her for the bravery and self control she showed despite the betrayal of her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" The man asked causally, still standing above her bed while the others remained seated.

"...A lot better. Thank you."

Karai bowed her head in the traditional Japanese way and Splinter was quick to respond in kind.

"You have fought valiantly for the sake of my sons and our friend April O'Neil. I would like to extend our home to you, even though I hear it is not your first time within these walls."

His clever eyes connected with the four turtles and they tried their best not to look guilty.

"Thank you. That...it means a lot to me."

Karai liked the sound of the rat's voice, she like his calm demeanor and gentle face, but also acknowledge the power of a man who could go head or head against her father and get away without much of a scratch.

"When you are feeling well I hope you join us in the Dojo."

Their father bowed again and excused himself, sending the boys a look over his shoulder that they all knew meant to be on their best behavior.

Eventually Karai's eyes started drooping again and April hinted that maybe they could all leave her to rest.

Karai pushed the beanbag away and stretched out flat again on the futon, reveled in the release her muscles felt. It felt so good to lie down, though she imagined that after two or three days she'd get itchy to run and move. She turned to Leo and saw him settling back in against the wall and felt the strangest twinge of withdrawal. There was no other way to explain the longing she felt for the comfort and familiarity of his touch.

"No kiss goodnight?"

The look on his face when he turned to her was a priceless mixture of want and caution, but Karai tried her best not to laugh as she patted the space beside the futon. Leo bent to kiss her, just a light brushing of lips that wasn't quick or greedy, but comfortable and careful. When he pulled away he stretched out on the floor next to her and she reached out for his hand. Karai nuzzled into his shoulder and they both let out a collective sigh of exhaustion and content.

The masked warrior let his head fall heavily to the side to stare at the girl next to him and marveled at how beautiful she looked despite all the horrible things she'd been through that past week. He loved her nose and the way her bangs fell into her eyes, the way her lips moved with silent words or sounds when she slept, and the sparkle she got in her eyes when she plotted some new terrible prank. Any human in his right mind would probably fall for her, yet here she was with a creature like him.

He thought about what she said in the sewer about being set free and wondered humbly if that really was so true. In the end she'd done that herself as well. He'd merely provided the stepping stones. She could easily have chosen to leave him behind in the dust that first morning, or when she'd healed enough, or when his family tried to test her loyalties. But instead she took a chance and here she was.

His hand tightened around hers instinctively but she didn't stir.

The mutant didn't know what lay ahead for them but he hoped it was something good. He hoped that the rockiest parts of their journey was behind them, but he also knew that life was never that simple. If anything it would probably just get harder. He didn't even really knew where Karai stood on the spectrum of "good" and "bad" but for the moment she was a good person and that's all he would care about. He'd simply do his best to make her happy each and every day, to replace the family she'd missed out on for so long, and try not to expect too much in return.


End file.
